Perry's Predicament
by PD4758PW
Summary: Sequel to 'A Long Time Ago' and 'Savory Secretary'. Perry Mason and Della Street are nearly a year into their romantic relationship and Perry hopes that he can bring it to the next level. So what can possibly happen that could change his plan?
1. Chapter 1

Once again I am "borrowing" the characters from Erle Stanley Gardner and his famous Perry Mason series. Thank you for reading! All comments are welcome.

A/N: When I began writing this story I found myself interjecting little paragraphs trying to explain how Perry & Della's relationship began. I was having a hard time with that so I abruptly decided to start all over and write 'A Long Time Ago' and the 'Savory Secretary' sequel before I got too far on this one. So instead of tossing this one out altogether, with your encouragement, I'm re-writing most of it and started over from where 'Savory Secretary' left off. Enjoy!

**Chapter One**

The beautiful Della Street walked to the podium as the thunderous applause in the auditorium turned into a standing ovation. She paused briefly at a few tables along the way to the stage steps accepting brief hugs and kisses on her cheek from well-wishers in the audience. Her black sequined evening gown sparkled in the stage lights as she stood, smiling broadly, beside the awards banquet emcee nodding her thanks to the crowd.

The applause died down as the emcee began speaking.

"Miss Street, on behalf of the Greater Los Angeles Area Community Awards committee, I'm proud to present you with this plaque honoring you for tonight's highest award, as the recipient of the Community Volunteer-of-the-year Award for 1950. Your tireless efforts of fundraising and volunteer hours spent at St. Christopher's Orphanage have helped this community in more ways than you can ever imagine. Your efforts to recruit Policemen from the Los Angeles Police Department and enlisting other prominent citizens to serve as mentors to orphans not only at St. Christopher's, but at other shelters for our youth, are outstanding! Miss Street, please accept this award from a very grateful community!"

The audience applauded again as Della accepted the plaque and a hug from the emcee. The flashbulbs from several cameras continued to light up the stage when Della adjusted the microphone at the podium, still smiling brightly looking over the audience. As the applause subsided she looked directly into the crowd at Perry Mason, the famous Los Angeles defense attorney, who was smiling back and subtly blowing kisses to her. Employed as Perry's confidential secretary and, not known to the public, being his steady girlfriend for nearly a year, she was living a dream.

"Thank you. I'm very humbled by this honor. There are so many others out there who are probably more deserving of an award such as this. The time that I can spend volunteering would not be possible without a very supportive employer and dear friend, Mr. Perry Mason. He not only gives me the time away from our busy law office, but he has provided financial support for St. Christopher's and other youth charities as well. And there are representatives here tonight from the Los Angeles Police Department as well who deserve praise for all that they do, day in and day out, to make this community the best. Thank you all very much."

Della walked away from the podium to another round of applause and stepped down from the stage to return to her table. The men at Della's table stood up to offer their congratulations when she got back to the table as the emcee was announcing the conclusion of the program.

Paul Drake, a close friend to her and Perry, and head of his own Private Detective Agency, gave her a hug and a kiss on her cheek. Lieutenant Arthur Tragg from the Los Angeles Police Department Homicide Division bowed down to her and took her hands in his to kiss them. The newly-elected Los Angeles County District Attorney Hamilton Burger gently embraced her and managed to give her a quick peck on the cheek before she made her way to her seat. Perry managed a quick kiss on her cheek as he held her chair out for her to sit down.

As a banquet waiter approached the table, Perry spoke with him quietly and the waiter left for the bar right away.

Paul took the plaque from Della to look it over as they all sat down. "This is a beautiful plaque, _Beautiful_! Where are you going to hang it?"

"I haven't really thought about it yet. Perry has such a vast collection of award plaques in the office right now, that I don't think there's enough room for this one." Della was smiling proudly and managed to give Perry a quick wink from her sparkling hazel eyes.

"We can always remodel the office again just for a wall of your own for _your_ award, Della." Perry returned her wink.

"Well if I haven't said this before gentlemen, I want to thank you for being here as my guests tonight. It really means a lot to me. We may be adversaries in doing our jobs some days, but tonight is all about friendship."

The timing of her words was perfect as the waiter arrived with the champagne that Perry ordered. The champagne glasses were filled and Perry proposed a toast.

"To the lovely Miss Della Street! The only woman I know of that can bring feisty legal opponents together in harmony... even if only for just one night."

Della was all smiles as they tipped their glasses together in celebration.

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The last bottle of champagne on the table was long gone and Della's table of guests began making their way out of the banquet room. Lt. Tragg and Burger made their way through the crowd stopping to shake hands and speak with colleagues on their way out. Paul crushed out a cigarette and excused himself after spotting a pretty woman who won an award for organizing some sort of community project. She walked all alone towards the door with Paul in hot pursuit.

Della was amused. "Paul doesn't miss any opportunity to chase a pretty woman anywhere, does he?"

Perry watched as Paul took off after the woman, then stood to help Della to her feet. "No he doesn't. He's a smooth operator! Shall we head out, ma'am?" They made their way to the coat check room.

As the auditorium emptied out, flashbulbs continued to light up the night as other award recipients and their guests exited the main doors of the venue. The hundreds of guests were the "_who's who"_ of Los Angeles' high society. Even surrounded by these elite citizens, Perry managed to arrange for his car to be brought around to a side exit to stay out of the limelight.

"I hope that our exit out this door is okay with you, Della. I don't want to ruin your night in the spotlight." Perry escorted her down a hallway to the door.

"This was a great idea, Perry. I think I've had enough of the limelight for a lifetime. This event is almost as hyped-up as that Emmy Awards ceremony. Those flashbulbs nearly blinded me."

"Well you deserve all the accolades you received even if you don't enjoy being in the limelight. I must add that you were the most beautiful award recipient in the program tonight." Perry looked around before he stole a quick kiss on her lips.

"Watch yourself, Counselor!" Della was grinning with a raised brow. "The valet might have seen that kiss. And you know how much those valets can gossip..."

Perry assisted Della into the passenger side of the car and walked around to generously tip the valet before he got in behind the wheel. He had the top up on his convertible, so as soon as they pulled away from the curb and made it away from the auditorium with all the flashbulbs popping, Della slid over on the seat closer to him. Perry immediately brought his arm up around her and pulled her in close. Della tuned in their favorite radio station and they listened to their favorite music as Perry drove towards Della's apartment.

"Now that your big night is off the calendar, we really need to plan our anniversary. I think we need a long weekend away... soon!" Perry was stopped at a traffic light and gave Della a soft kiss on her cheek.

"Exactly which date do you consider our _anniversary_ date? It's not like we're married or anything."

"Let's not debate that marriage issue again, Miss Street. You know that I want to marry you. I love you more than anyone in the world, Della." Perry squeezed her a little tighter as they drove through the intersection after the light change.

"I can't believe we've been together nearly a year. It's been quite a roller coaster hasn't it?" Della laid her head on Perry's shoulder.

"What matters is that you're here with me, you're healthy again, and we have each other. So when and where do we celebrate our anniversary?"

Perry pulled into the parking lot to Della's apartment building and assisted Della out through the drivers' door. Della tucked her award plaque under one arm and latched onto Perry's elbow with her other hand.

"Sometimes I think of our anniversary as the first night we met, but that was on your birthday. I want to plan something special for that night." Della leaned into his shoulder again as they got on the elevator.

"You stole my heart on my birthday – twice. The first time at a dance at a USO Canteen during the war and the next time on a railway station platform in Chicago. Meeting _you_ on my birthday is the only reason I celebrate that day." Perry brought out his key to open Della's apartment door.

"What would you like for a nightcap?" Della put her clutch purse down on a table by the door as Perry flipped on the light switch and helped her remove her wrap. Della placed the award plaque down on the coffee table by the sofa and walked across the room to turn on the radio.

"Let me pour us a cognac. How does that sound, baby?" Perry hung the wrap up in her closet and headed for her kitchen.

"Cognac sounds wonderful. It's so nice to feel normal again and have a nightcap instead of a pain pill before I go to bed." Della kicked off her heels and turned down the lights. Perry came out of the kitchen with a glass of cognac to share. Della sat down on the sofa and lit a candle on the table.

"It won't be long and you'll be all through taking any kind of medicine." Perry sat down on the sofa beside her and wrapped her in his arms and gently kissed her cheek. He then reached over and lifted the glass of cognac to her lips. "You first, Miss Volunteer-of-the-year award winner."

Della sipped the cognac, directed the glass back towards Perry, and reached over to loosen his bow-tie. "You're so good to me. Did I mention how much I love you? You were the best looking man at the banquet you know..."

Perry took a sip from the glass and placed it on the table. "I hope that I mentioned how beautiful you are tonight. You're beautiful _every_ night." He leaned towards her and softly kissed her lips.

Della lifted Perry's arm and put it around her shoulder so she could tuck her head into his chest. She stared at the award plaque on the table and her eyes welled up with tears.

"It's so ironic isn't it? I have an award for helping out at an orphanage because I love being with and helping children, but now I can't ever have a child of my own."

Perry held her tighter. "Shhhh, baby. I know how much that hurts you." He turned her towards him to kiss her tears away. "That was only one doctor's opinion. When you're ready, I'll get you a specialist. They're doing miraculous things with medical research these days. Let's not worry about that right now."

"I can't feel whole as a woman since the surgery..."

"Shhhh. You're all woman, Della. A beautiful, warm, loving, caring, woman. The only woman I'll ever love..." He turned her towards him and cradled her in his arms to kiss her. He gently moved his lips across hers and with each kiss Della responded back running her fingers through his hair. "Let's not talk about this anymore tonight. We're supposed to be celebrating your award."

Della snuggled in close to him. "You're too good to me."

"I'm glad I have you. I love you so much, Della."

Perry brought the glass of cognac back up off of the table. "I've just decided that June 4th will be our anniversary... That is, until you decide that you'll marry me so our only anniversary will be a _wedding _anniversary."

"June 4th? Hmmm. The night that you lured me out to the beach to watch the fireworks? That was a very special night." Della sipped more cognac as Perry raised the glass to her.

"I loved every minute of it... Now that we've decided on our anniversary date, we need another night of dancing to figure out our song."

Della giggled. "I don't know why we can't come up with _our_ song! We've only been out dancing a million times this year!"

"I guess I've just figured that every song that I'm dancing to with you is our song..."

They fell silent for quite a while with the music playing softly on the radio and Della drifted off to sleep in Perry's arms. Like so many other nights since Della became ill in February, Perry just held her tight to let her nap for a while. While she'd sleep, Perry would reflect back on the time they'd spent together since the night they proclaimed their love for one another on that magical June night... Perry rested his head next to hers and let his thoughts drift off to his time spent with Della.

_The law office was a well-oiled machine with Della running it. They added new clients and took on several high-profile murder cases with a lot of success. They worked long hours and just when they'd catch up and try to take a short vacation, another caper would come up that needed immediate attention. While Perry was away attending or lecturing at Bar Association conferences, Della was volunteering at St. Christopher's or any of the other local youth shelters. Perry desperately wanted to take their relationship to the next level. He often wondered if she would spend the night with him without a wedding ring on her finger. He thought that the chemistry was there. He just wanted to go away with her somewhere. Away from telephones and answering services. Away from Courtroom dramas. Away from reporters and stealth photographers prying into his private life._

_From the very start of their romantic relationship, Perry would tell Della that he wants to marry her, but she put him off every time he suggested it. She always countered his offer by saying that marriage will drastically change their work relationship, so she suggested that they wait to make a decision on marriage. Della worried that his reputation as a high-profile defense attorney could suffer if it became known that he was going to marry his secretary. Perry didn't buy that notion, but Della thought otherwise. They kept their romance private with only a few of their trusted friends knowing about their relationship away from the office. _

_Then the day before they were set to leave together on a long weekend in celebration of Valentine's Day, Della collapsed in the Police Records Bureau while researching a case and was rushed to the hospital. Perry suspected that she was exhausted from working such long hours. He was with her holding her hand beside her hospital bed when the Doctor came in with her diagnosis. The Doctor told her that a cyst on an ovary had burst and that's what caused her to collapse in pain. Not knowing if the cyst was cancerous or not, the Doctor recommended surgery to remove the ovary and test the cyst for cancer. After the surgery, Della's chances to ever have a baby were remote, but not entirely impossible. They were relieved to find out that the cyst was not cancerous._

Della stirred slightly and reached up to touch Perry's face. "I did it again, didn't I?"

"Shhhh. It's alright. You've had too much excitement for one night. I think that you need to go get a good nights' sleep so we can have a nice day tomorrow – starting when I pick you up for Sunday brunch." Perry gathered her in his arms lifting her off of the sofa and stood up nibbling at her neck until she giggled uncontrollably.

"That tickles! Perry Mason! Stop that now..." She continued laughing. "You better not drop me!"

"Stop squirming or I _will_ drop you!" Perry slowly lowered her to her feet as he found her lips with his and gently kissed her.

Della wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. They took small steps towards the door. "Good night, Perry. I love you..."

Perry gave her a tight squeeze and another kiss as he reached for the door knob. "Sleep well, Della. I love you, too."

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Perry and Della were seated at a table on the outdoor patio at Cafe Milan in Playa del Rey reading the Sunday paper and sipping mimosas when Paul finally showed up to join them.

Perry looked up from the financial pages of the paper and glanced at his watch. "Why are you so late this morning? It's not like you to be late for a meal."

Paul sat down and cleared his throat. "Let's just say that I had a late night." He picked up a menu. "Did you order yet?"

"Only mimosas. We're not in any hurry today."

The waiter came to the table and Paul ordered up more mimosas.

Della folded her section of the newspaper and laid it on the table next to Perry. "Look at this... an article about the Monroe's..."

Perry put his section of the paper aside to view the article. "Who are the _Monroe's_?"

"Don't you remember? They were in all the gossip columns last summer."

Perry perused the newspaper article. "I don't know why you read these gossip columns at all, Della."

"How else can I keep checking up on you if I don't read them at least weekly?" Della was smiling at Perry.

Perry reached over and gently squeezed Della's hand. "Well who cares if they were seen in Marina del Rey?"

Paul took the paper from Perry and interjected. "Phyllis Monroe is the daughter of oil baron George Iverson. She inherited the oil company when her parents were killed somewhere in Mexico, if I recall."

Perry turned to Paul. "Now I see _your_ interest in this... A woman who becomes a wealthy heiress overnight!"

Della got back to her point. "Well last summer her husband Marshall Monroe's first wife was murdered and the case is still unsolved. Before he married Phyllis, he was Vice President at Iverson Oil and the stockholders were having a field day with the fact that Marshall..."

Perry pretended to fall asleep at the table and began making loud snoring sounds interrupting Della.

Della looked a little hurt and tapped him on his shoulder with the newspaper. "Now you've made me forget the point I was trying to make..."

Perry leaned towards Della and gently took her face in his hands to kiss her. "I'm teasing you, baby. I'm sorry." He gently kissed her a few more times before he sat back in his chair.

Paul tapped his menu on the table. "If you two lovebirds are finished kissing and making up, can we order brunch now? I'm starving!"

Perry politely caught the waiter's attention to bring him to the table. After their food order was taken Perry asked Paul for an update on a case he'd asked Paul to help with.

"So what have you found out on the Dexter case? Will I be good to go with their court case tomorrow morning?"

"You should be good to go. It came together just as you thought it would. I suspect that you'll have another big payday by tomorrow afternoon."

"So are you saying that I'm buying brunch today?"

"You took the words right out of my mouth!"

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Paul came by Perry's office the next morning to drop off a billing invoice to Della. "Hiya, Beautiful! Is Perry back from Court yet?"

"He called to say that he'll be back after lunch." Della took Paul's invoice to read it over. "When are you going to learn how to spell, Paul?"

Paul took the invoice back. "What's wrong with it?"

Della took the invoice back and pointed out his spelling errors. "Let's start with accommodations... You need two c's, two m's. And 'restaurant' only has one e, not two. And finally 'cemetery' does not have any a's."

Paul snatched the invoice back. "Well with Margo on vacation this week, you'll probably see more errors. Unless, of course, _you_ want to help me out this week?" Paul looked at her with pleading eyes.

Della just chuckled. "Are you kidding? I'm so far behind here just getting the briefs ready for his Larson case. And now he's got me researching a case for the Morgan merger before he goes to Sacramento on Wednesday."

Paul scribbled the spelling changes on the invoice and returned it to Della. "Well that means that you'll be by your phone most of the time in case I need to call you."

"Of course I'll try to help you, Paul... But it will cost you..."

"I don't like the sound of that..."

"It's nothing that you can't handle. I'm planning something special for Perry's birthday on Sunday, the 21st. That's less than two weeks away now. And I'll need you to..."

Before Della could finish her request of Paul, Perry walked into the office.

"Hi Paul... Good to see you. The Dexter case was fine. Be sure to send me your bill." Perry put his brief case down on Della's desk and opened it to remove a file and place it on her desk. "Case closed, Miss Street. You may send out the billing invoice as soon as we know how much Paul is going to gouge us for."

Della picked up the file and looked back to Perry who was closing his brief case. "I thought that you were going to be back _after_ lunch. Do you need me to get you something?"

"No thanks, Della. I don't have time for lunch right now. If you can give me the Clayton file, I need to run back to Judge Ankrum's chambers right away with that file." Perry walked out of Della's office and into his own.

Paul just shook his head and grinned. "He's all business today. Why don't you call me later? I'll help with whatever you need for your you-know-whose, you-know-what."

Della pulled out the Clayton file and made her way towards Perry's office. "Thanks, Paul. I'll call soon. I better get this in there."

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While Perry was out of town in Sacramento, Della and Paul went to Perry's apartment to look through Perry's fishing tackle.

"I remind you, Della. I'm not a fishing expert like he is. I can only tell you what he's missing from his gear."

"Well that's why I brought along this catalog. If we don't see anything resembling some of the gear in this catalog amongst _his_ gear, I'll be able to take a list to the store down at the Pier and buy it for him."

Della wrote out the list and she and Paul drove down to the Pier to buy the new fishing gear.

"So what are you planning to do on his birthday?"

"I'm making him dinner at my place. You're welcome to join us if you'd like, Paul."

"I think I'll pass this time. I don't need any more of Perry's wrath when it comes to interrupting you two lovebirds."

"Oh, Paul... You're not serious are you? When has he ever berated you for stopping in on us when we're alone together?"

"Well, only once... Or twice... Maybe three times. He isn't angry or anything, he just told me that my timing is bad on occasion. I'll tell you, Della. He's a new man with you in his life!"

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Della brought Perry a cup of coffee and the morning paper when he arrived in the office Tuesday morning, the 16th of May. "I found the newspaper headlines very interesting this morning."

Perry dropped off his briefcase on his desk and stood next to Della to take the cup of coffee, put it on his desk and read the headline. "Is Gertie here yet?"

Della was sorting a stack of mail on Perry's desk. "It's not even 8:30 yet. She's not due until..."

Della's words were cut off when Perry took Della in his arms to kiss her.

"Good morning, Miss Street. How was your meeting at St. Christopher's last night?"

"My goodness, you're frisky this morning, Counselor." Della smiled and wiggled out of his grasp. "It was just fine."

Perry reluctantly let her go. "I miss having dinner with you. We need to plan a night out this week."

"Well we'll have Sunday all to ourselves – all day Sunday!"

Perry had a wide smile. He looked over the newspaper. "So what am I looking at here?"

Della moved beside him to point out the article. "Towards the bottom – here."

Perry read the headline out loud. "Marshall Monroe found murdered. LAPD investigation continues. Hmmm. Why is that name familiar?" Perry read further.

"I was telling you about him and his wife Phyllis when we were having brunch a week ago Sunday. At least I was _trying_ to tell you about them when you made fun of me for reading the gossip column."

Perry continued reading the paper but reached for Della to gently rub her shoulder with his free hand. "Hmmm. It doesn't say if there's a suspect yet. Interesting, though." He put the paper down. "What else have we got going this morning? I need to get that brief taken care of when you're available."

Perry and Della had a busy week and were taking an afternoon coffee break on Wednesday when the rhythmic knock on the back door got their attention.

Perry walked to the door to let Paul in. "Mr. Drake. What brings you here this afternoon?"

Paul had a copy of the afternoon edition of the newspaper and put it down on the conference table. "Did you see this?"

Perry lit a cigarette and sat down at the table to read the paper. "Hmmm. Phyllis Monroe was arrested for the murder of her husband."

Della poured Paul a cup of coffee. "That's awful. I can't see someone like her being involved in a murder – especially the murder of her husband. I've always wondered what she saw in someone like Marshall Monroe, though."

"Don't tell me that you base your bad feelings about Mr. Monroe on what you've read in the gossip columns." Perry took a sip of his coffee.

Della was a little defensive. "I just find it very suspicious that he reported his wife missing, then organized a search party to find her when he thought that the Police weren't doing enough for him. Then lo and behold a day later _he_ finds her dead body in the trunk of her car in the area where he originally organized the search."

Perry and Paul looked at each other, reluctant to make any comments. Perry felt brave enough to say something. "Which Agatha Christie novel did you compare that murder scenario to?"

Della tapped Perry on his head with the spoon from the sugar bowl on the table. "You men!" Paul moved his chair back away from the table out of Della's striking range.

"Don't '_you men'_ me! I didn't say a word!" Paul lit a cigarette and leaned back to drink his coffee.

Perry beat Della to the office Thursday morning. She walked into her office and before she could store her purse away Perry walked in from his office.

"Don't put your purse away. Grab your notepad. We're heading to the jail. Phyllis Monroe called and said that she needs a lawyer."

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Perry and Della spent most of the morning in the jail with a very distraught Phyllis Monroe. She vehemently denied any involvement in her husband's death. She begged Perry to represent her.

"I'll try to help you out, Mrs. Monroe. But I'll need to know everything you've done the week before the murder and everything since the murder. I'll have to track your every move. Once I get copies of the Police reports I'll meet with you again."

Phyllis Monroe was shaking and Della patted the back of her hand to calm her down. Phyllis showed a weary smile and appreciated the gesture. "Please believe me, Mr. Mason. I had nothing to do with his death. I told the Police that, but they don't believe me."

"I wish you would have called before you spoke with the Police. But that's not a big concern right now. If the Police want to speak with you again, you refer them to me." He turned back to Della. "Let's head back to the office. We've got some work to do."

Phyllis buried her face in her hands and began sobbing. "This is a nightmare!"

Della moved to calm her down again and Perry stepped over to help Phyllis to her feet. "Try to keep it together, Mrs. Monroe. I'll be here for you at the arraignment tomorrow morning. It won't be easy, but try and get some rest."

The jail matron came in to take Phyllis away when Perry and Della walked out.

While Della stopped in at the Police Records Bureau, Perry went to a pay phone to call Paul.

"Hiya, Perry! I've been wondering when you were gonna be calling! Where are you?"

"Della and I just left the jail. She's trying to get copies of the Police reports right now. She'll only be able to get the basics. Can you help me out with the inside scoop?"

"I'll get right on it. Is the arraignment tomorrow?"

"Yes. I have enough information to get through that. But I need all the information that you can get on the Monroe's and the Iverson's as soon as possible. I've learned a lesson here, Paul. I'll have to pay more attention to Della's tidbits of information from out there in the real world more often!"

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Perry walked into the Courtroom assigned for the daily arraignments and took the only vacant seat in the packed gallery. He saw Phyllis Monroe waiting with a jail matron off to the side of the Courtroom in the holding area. The worried look on her face disappeared when she saw Perry enter the Courtroom. While the Judge listened to another case before the Bench, Perry looked around the room watching Prosecutors and Defense attorneys quietly exchanging notes and files in the gallery. The room was filled with news reporters and photographers, probably anticipating the arraignment of Mrs. Monroe.

Della walked into the Courtroom and gave Perry more papers for his file from her portfolio briefcase. Perry stood up and looked over the papers and added them to his briefcase. He then directed Della to his seat.

The case before the Judge was disposed of and the persons associated with the case walked away from the Bench. "Call the next case, please."

The Court Clerk shuffled more papers on his table and then looked back to the Judge. "The Court calls the State versus Mrs. Phyllis Monroe. All parties for State versus Monroe approach the Bench."

Phyllis was brought to the Bench and Perry made his way through the bar gate to stand with her. A moment later, Perry watched as Hamilton Burger shrugged off reporters outside in the hallway and entered the Courtroom to approach the Bench.

The Judge read the paperwork in front of him. "Mrs. Phyllis Monroe? I have a copy of the Complaint here in front of me. You're charged with one count of Murder in the First Degree. Your rights have been explained. How do you plead?"

It all sounded so routine for the Judge, but Phyllis suddenly felt weak and began to collapse. Perry grabbed onto her right away, but still managed to address the Judge. "Your Honor, Perry Mason for the Defense. We plead not guilty."

Aside from Phyllis feeling a little faint, the arraignment went as Perry thought it would and the date for the Preliminary Hearing was set for Monday June 5th. The Court calendar was very busy and due to the Memorial Day Holiday on May 30th, the hearing date was even later than expected. Phyllis was remanded back to the jail matron so Perry and Della packed up to leave.

They exited the Courtroom just ahead of Burger and were immediately surrounded by reporters. Perry held Della close and walked through the crowd politely telling them that he did not have any comments. The crowd broke off from Perry and Della as Burger stopped to speak with the reporters. Perry nodded back to Burger with a slight smile showing a look of gratitude for taking the reporters off of his tail.

Perry and Della returned to the office to sort through the Police reports and other information that Della had gathered. They worked straight through the afternoon and into the early evening making phone calls, taking statements from witnesses and putting a defense strategy together. Perry didn't realize how late it was until Paul called again with more information.

Perry hung up the phone and looked to Della who was now standing in front of his desk, arms across her chest, posing one foot in front of the other.

"Wait right there. Don't move." Perry opened the desk drawer by Della's chair and took out a small shiny object. He held the object in the palm of his hand and showed it to Della. "Are you missing something?"

Della glanced at the object in his hand and immediately brought her hand up to her left ear. She chuckled when she realized that Perry was holding her earring.

"I was wondering where that would turn up." She took the earring and put it back on her ear. "I'll never break the habit of taking off my earring to answer the phone..."

Perry stood up and with a weary smile he walked around to the front of his desk to take Della in his arms. With his arms around her waist, he pulled her close and gently kissed her forehead. Della relaxed in his arms and put her arms around his neck. She rested her head on his chest while Perry gently moved his hands up and down her back.

"We either just had a small earthquake, or I heard your stomach growling." Perry moved his hands up to her shoulders and gave her a gentle massage.

"I'm starving. I'm glad that I managed to steal a couple of Gertie's carrots for lunch. Why don't I call Clay's and order some dinner to bring up here?"

"That's a great idea, Miss Street. And be sure to order something for Paul. He's on his way here right now." He gave Della another kiss on her forehead before she left for her office to order dinner.

**PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

With the exception of two hours that Della spent at the beauty parlor getting her hair done on Saturday, the trio spent all day Saturday working on the defense for Phyllis Monroe. Paul and Perry were in and out of the office most of the day while Della stayed busy typing and taking care of other office business. After a casual dinner at a restaurant near Della's apartment, Perry drove Della home and walked her up to her apartment.

"Did I mention how beautiful your hair is today?" Perry opened her door and Della walked in ahead of him. "But you know that your hair is beautiful every day."

Della closed the door behind them and put her arms around Perry's neck. "Your compliments are appreciated, Counselor. Hanging out in the beauty parlor is just another thing us girls have to do to keep our men interested in us." She gently kissed his lips as he leaned down.

Perry clasped his hands together as he brought them together around Della's lower back. "Well this man will be interested in you whether you visit a beauty parlor or not."

"How about a nightcap?"

"Sounds good. But just a quick one. My girl tells me that I have a big day ahead of me tomorrow..."

"Cognac?"

Perry leaned down to kiss her then released his hold on her. "Let me get it. You need to sit down and relax."

They moved to Della's dining room table and Perry poured the liquor into a glass to share. "We've got a lot of work ahead of us for Mrs. Monroe, but I'm glad we have more time to exonerate her." Before Della could sit down he grabbed her around the waist and seated her on his lap.

Della put her arms around his neck after Perry let her take a sip of cognac. "Well tomorrow you are the birthday boy, so we'll take the day off and get back to work on Monday."

"I wish you'd tell me what you have planned..."

"You just be here anytime after noon and be prepared to relax and be pampered."

**DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

Della was busy seasoning a large ribeye roast getting it ready for the oven when her phone rang at 11:30 Sunday morning. She quickly wiped her hands on her apron and ran for the phone.

"How's my girl this morning?"

"I'm fine, thank you. Happy birthday, Perry."

"Thanks. Is there anything that I can do or bring?..."

Della cut him off right away. "No! You just get here as soon as you can. This is _your_ day!"

"I'll be there within the hour."

Della got the roast in the oven and looked around the kitchen. She put the finishing touches on a cheese tray and brought the birthday cake out of the kitchen to place it on the dining room table. She double-checked the dinner place settings and decorations around the apartment. Satisfied that everything was ready to entertain her guest, she went to her bedroom to change into a light green dress that Perry loved.

Perry double-checked his shirt and sport coat in the mirror and emerged from his bedroom to use the phone in his living room. He dialed up his answering service number.

"Hello, Mr. Mason. I have three messages for you right now."

Perry asked her to wait for a minute while he grabbed a pen and notebook from his coat pocket to write the messages down. "Okay. I'm ready."

The operator rattled off the messages and Perry scribbled down the phone numbers in his book. He was concerned only about the third message. Before he hung up, he gave the operator Della's phone number for any emergency messages.

Perry dialed the number of someone who wanted to remain anonymous but had information on a murder.

The woman on the other end of the line picked up after two rings. "Mr. Mason?"

"That's right. Who am I speaking to?"

"I didn't leave you my name for a reason. Listen carefully because I'm only gonna say this once... You'll find an important file regarding the murder of Marshall Monroe in the vacant house at 302 South Highland Avenue in West Hollywood. The file is in the desk drawer in the den. You won't miss it."

"Why won't you tell me your name? Maybe there will be a reward for your information."

"I don't need any reward. Just get that file _right away_ and you'll understand."

Perry was about to ask another question but the line was disconnected. He looked at his watch and thought about the location of the address that he was given. He figured that it was a little out of the way to Della's place, but he could quickly swing by on the way to Della's just to grab the file. He ordinarily would have asked Paul to do this errand but he knew that Paul and one of his men were in Ventura following up on a different lead.

Perry parked his car at the curb in front of the address, got out looking around, and walked up the driveway to the house. He looked at the house number on the door and rechecked his notebook. He looked in a window near the door and noticed that the home looked vacant. As he got closer to the door, he found it ajar. He rapped his knuckles on the door and it opened more.

"Hello? Anyone home? Hello?"

There was no response. Perry stepped into the entryway and looked around. There was not any furniture that he could see. The musty odor of the home caught his attention. He looked off to his left and saw the area that he figured was the den. There indeed _was_ a desk in the room and he walked towards it from the entryway. As he walked towards the desk, he felt a sharp pain in his head. The tall, well-built man crumpled to the floor unconscious.

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Della turned on the radio and brought out a magazine to read while waiting for Perry to arrive. He said that he'd be at her place by around 12:30. By 1:30 she decided to call his apartment in case he had lost track of time by reading an interesting book. His phone rang several times and assuming that he was enroute, she hung up the phone and went to check on the roast in the oven.

By 2 o'clock when he still hadn't arrived, Della phoned Perry's answering service and got the operator on the line.

"Yes he did check in, Miss Street. As a matter of fact he left your phone number to call for any emergencies. The last time I spoke with him was... hmmm... let's see here... 11:40am. I gave him three messages. All of them were phone numbers for him to call..."

"Would you please give me those phone numbers? I'm trying to track him down."

Della wrote down the phone messages and looked at the names and phone numbers. She noticed that the third message was not a number familiar to her. Even though the message was from an anonymous caller, she called the number. She let the phone ring about 10 times then hung up and redialed the number. The second try had the same result after she let it ring 20 times. When she called the other phone numbers, she learned that Perry had not returned their calls.

She thought for another moment then imagined that he might be somewhere with Paul so she called Paul's office. His phone line rolled over to his answering service.

"Hello! This is Della Street with Mr. Mason's office calling. Would you please tell me where I can find Mr. Drake right now?"

"Mr. Drake hasn't checked in since 1 o'clock, Miss Street. May I take a message and have him call you when he checks in?"

Della left a message for Paul then went to her window to check the parking lot for Perry's car. She didn't see the car and contemplated walking down to the lobby of her building to see if Perry might have stopped off at the manager's office to talk about fishing with Bob the manager. She checked her kitchen clock again and decided that she'd give him another half hour and then she'd check the lobby. She went back to the kitchen and turned the oven to a lower temperature hoping that the roast wouldn't dry out since it was nearly done roasting.

By 3:15 Della made her way down to her lobby and found Bob in his office. He hadn't seen Perry at all. She returned to her apartment and called Perry's apartment again. With no answer there, she called his answering service again. A new operator was on duty and told Della that Perry had not contacted the answering service at all. Della had a bad feeling inside.

Paul checked in with his answering service from Ventura at 4 o'clock and got Della's message.

"Hiya Beautiful! I got your message. How's the birthday party?"

"That's why I called, Paul. There _is_ no party. Perry was supposed to be here almost four hours ago and I can't find him anywhere."

"Hmmm. That doesn't sound like him to not check in – and he was looking forward to spending his birthday with you. If _you_ can't track him down I wonder where he is?"

Della told Paul about everything she had done so far to locate him. "I don't know what else to do, Paul..."

"I'll tell you what, Della. I'm leaving Ventura now. Why don't I stop by his apartment and see if he didn't just doze off or something? You know how he is when he gets into reading a law book. He probably unplugged his phone."

"I'm really worried, Paul. I have a bad feeling..."

"Don't worry, Della. He'll show up. I'll be back in LA in about an hour or so and I'll call you when I get to his place. In the meantime, if he shows up at your place, let my answering service know."

Paul called Della at 5:45 from Perry's apartment.

"He's not here and everything looks normal here, Della. I'm getting concerned about the anonymous call he got. Give me that phone number again and I'll try to track it down."

Della gave Paul the number and he called it in to his contact at the phone company and drove over to Della's place.

"I'm so glad you're here, Paul. I'm really worried now. I called the hospitals. I tuned in the radio to the news station. There's been no major accidents reported. Where could he be?" Della stood with her arms crossed with one hand on her chin fighting the urge to chew on a fingernail.

"Well I had a man check the anonymous phone caller's number. He's looking into it now."

"I feel so helpless. I can't think of anything else to do..." Della began pacing the floor.

They were both startled when the phone rang.

Della jumped to answer it right away.

"It's for you, Paul."

"Paul Drake here. Yes, Danny... Where? Hmmm... Okay... Right... Thanks, Danny."

Paul hung up and looked to Della. "That phone number lists to a phone booth in West Hollywood. Let me call one of my men to go sit on that phone booth."

When Paul got off the phone with the man he sent to West Hollywood he joined Della in the kitchen. She was storing the beef roast in the refrigerator.

Paul saw how worried Della looked. "I can't just sit here by a phone. This is driving me crazy, too. I've got another idea, though. I think my contact on the LAPD can maybe help us out." He got on the phone to make another call.

**PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

Shortly after 7pm a Police patrol car checking their daily vacant homes list came across a suspicious car parked at the curb in front of the home at 302 South Highland Avenue.

A patrolman got out of the Police car and checked the registration on the visor in the car while the other patrolman in the car used their radio to call it in.

"It lists to Mr. Perry Mason in the Brent Building downtown."

"Hey... I've heard of him. He's some famous defense attorney."

"I'll bet he's checking out an important case nearby."

"On a Sunday night?"

"You don't become a famous successful attorney by taking a day off."

"I suppose we should go check this place."

The Patrolmen got to the front door and found it open. They split up to check out the inside of the dwelling.

"Holy smokes! In here!"

The Patrolmen found Perry on the floor – not moving.

"He's still alive... We better get an ambulance."

**DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

The pain in Perry's head was unbearable as he initially drifted in and out of consciousness. The sound of a large metal hammer striking a thick iron pipe played over and over in his head. _Clang! Clang! Clang! _He felt paralyzed. He was floating in the clouds, but only with a solid surface beneath him. The lights went out in his world and he lost his battle fighting to overcome the pain caused by the blow to his head.

_Get up. I've got to get up. Clang! Clang! Clang! It's time to go to Della's place. Della... Della Street... She's so beautiful. Clang! Clang! Clang! Just get up. It smells so musty here. My head hurts. Clang! Clang! Clang! A quick nap and I'll feel just fine. Then I'll get to Della's place. Clang! Clang! Clang! I'm so sleepy. I need to get up. Della's place... _

_Voices... A Courtroom? Clang! Clang! Clang! Voices... I have such a bad headache. Why can't I move my arms? I've got to get up. Those voices... Clang! Clang! Clang! It's so dusty here. A clean shirt. My sport coat. Della... If I just take a short nap. No, get up. Clang! Clang! Clang! Voices. Ambulance? So much pain in my head. I can't get up. Voices. Clang! Clang! Clang! Just get up. I'm going to Della's. In my car. Voices. A siren? Clang! Clang! Clang! _

**PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

The Patrolmen secured the vacant home and followed the ambulance into Cedars-Sinai Hospital with the still unconscious famous attorney.

"We better let the Watch Commander know what we've got here. He'll wonder why we're not going to Central Receiving at LA General with this one."

The information about Perry Mason being admitted to the hospital in critical condition made it onto the Watch Commander's log at Police Headquarters and by 9pm the information trickled down to Paul's contact at the Police Department. He immediately got on the phone to call Paul at Della's apartment.

"Mr. Mason was brought in to Cedars-Sinai from West Hollywood by Patrolmen checking vacant homes."

"Is he okay?"

"I think you better get down there, Paul. They listed his condition as critical."

Paul tried to keep Della calm as he quickly drove to the hospital. "I told my contact to ask Lt. Tragg to meet us at the hospital. I'm thinking that the only thing Perry could have been checking on today would be related to Monroe's murder. Tragg is on that case. Maybe he can give us some help."

"He's _critical_, Paul. Do you think they've made a mistake?" Della's voice was shaky.

Paul reached across the car seat and held Della's hand. "Perry's a strong man. I think he'll be fine. Hospitals always list new patients as _critical_ until they get them out of the emergency room." Paul was really concerned about his best friend's condition but he just told Della anything positive that he could think of to keep her calm.

A nurse directed them towards Perry's room in the emergency department. A team of two doctors and another nurse were tending to Perry. When they finished their exam, one of the doctors walked over to Della and Paul where they stood by the door.

The doctor tucked away his stethoscope into the pocket of his lab coat. "Are you family?"

Paul spoke up. "Not exactly. He doesn't have any relatives here in town. We're the closest thing to family that he has. I'm Paul Drake, a close associate of his. And this is Mr. Mason's confidential secretary, Miss Della Street. He was supposed to be meeting with us this afternoon but he never showed up. How is he Doc?"

"Well he suffered a severe head trauma. He's unconscious but we don't know for how long. Two policemen found him in a vacant home."

Della kept staring towards Perry's hospital bed. An IV bottle was hung on a hook by the side of his bed. A nasal cannula delivered oxygen to him through his nose. "May I see him? Or just talk to him? Maybe if he hears my voice he'll..."

The doctor politely interrupted her right away. "Give us a few more minutes to finish our next exam and I'll let you see him. Right now he's not responding to verbal stimuli. His reflexes are fine so we know he's responding to touch. I need to read the x-rays we just took. Just wait here and I'll let you know when you can see him..."

Tears began to form in Della's eyes. Paul held her close and watched the medical team work on Perry. "He's strong, Della. It's encouraging that his reflexes are good. I think any minute now he'll wake up and want out of here."

Della leaned into Paul. "I just want to touch him... Hold his hand... Tell him that I love him..."

**DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

_Sleep is good. I need to get up. Clang! Clang! Clang! Voices. Wake up. I need to go to Della's. My arms are so weak. I need to get up. Clang! Clang! Clang! The pressure in my head. Voices. It smells so sterile here. Clang! Clang! Clang! I better get up. Time for Court. Voices. Who is the Judge? Clang! Clang! Clang! I have such a headache. I'll go to Della's. Just get up. Della. My girl, Della. Voices. Clang! Clang! Clang!_

Della and Paul stepped out of the room to wait in the hallway while Perry was stripped of his clothes and changed into hospital attire. The nurse came out of the room with two paper bags.

"Would you like to take his clothing? His wallet and other belongings are in this bag."

Della took the bags right away. "I'll take care of this."

The nurse bought up her clipboard. "Here's an inventory sheet. Please read it over and check the list with the contents of the bag. You'll need to sign for it. There's a substantial amount of cash in his wallet."

Della found a seating area nearby and sat down to look through the bags. Paul walked over to assist.

She opened the smaller bag and brought out Perry's watch followed by his notebook and wallet. She stopped and held the watch. Tears welled up in Della's eyes. "I can't do this, Paul."

"That's okay. Let me deal with this."

Lt. Tragg walked into the Emergency Department and found them in the hallway.

"Della? Paul? How is he?" Tragg watched Paul put Perry's belongings back in the bags.

"He's still unconscious. We're waiting for the doctor to come back to give us more information after he reads the x-rays. He was hit over the head pretty hard."

Tragg sat down in a chair next to Della. "I've got our crime scene technicians going over that house with a fine-tooth comb. I've impounded his car, by the way. They'll check it for fingerprints and any possible evidence."

Paul opened up Perry's notebook and paged through it. "Della, are these the messages from his answering service?"

Della read over the numbers. "Yes. The first message is related to an upcoming court trial and the next name and number is an attorney that he met at the Bar Association convention. That last number is the anonymous one."

Tragg spoke up about the anonymous message and phone number. "I'll have a policeman relieve your man at the phone booth in West Hollywood, Paul. We're gonna check that for fingerprints and any other evidence, too. I feel as strongly about this as you do about it being related to the Monroe case."

Della quickly stood up when she saw the doctor returning to Perry's room. "May I see him now?"

"Give me one minute, first. I need to talk to the nurse with some instructions."

When the doctor came out, he waved Della over to the room. "You may see him now. But only for a few minutes."

Della looked to Paul and he walked in with her. Tragg followed them and stood inside the room by the door.

The nurse stepped aside and moved to the nurse's station with paperwork. Paul moved a chair to Perry's bedside for Della to sit down.

Della gently took a hold of Perry's hand. She fought back her tears to speak to him.

"Perry? I'm here now... You need to wake up..." She brought his limp hand up to her cheek. "You're going to be fine... I love you, Perry..."

Paul stood behind her with his hand rubbing her shoulder.

Della continued holding Perry's hand to her cheek. "Paul and Arthur are here. You need to wake up..."

_I'm awake. I need to get up. Della... Oh, Della... Clang! Clang! Clang! I'm so tired. I'll get up in minute. Give me a minute, Della... I'm so weak. Clang! Clang! Clang! I want to hold you, Della. My girl, Della. I'm so tired._

The doctor came back into the room. He moved to the other side of Perry's bed and read his chart. He brought out his stethoscope and listened to Perry's chest. After a moment he took Perry's pulse from his wrist.

"Nurse? Would you please take another blood pressure reading for me?"

The nurse walked over and took his blood pressure. "It's 140 over 95." She recorded the blood pressure reading and walked back to the nurse's station with the chart.

"That's a good sign. It's coming back down towards normal." The doctor brought out his small pen light and looked in Perry's eyes. "Nurse, please chart that his pupils are not as dilated but are still not equally reactive." After checking Perry's ears again he stood back from Perry's bed. "He's showing slight signs of improvement. Keep talking to him. It might be helping."

The doctor moved over to the nurse's station and got the chart from the nurse. "Before he's admitted upstairs, I want a CSF sample and another blood draw. Keep the IV drip rate the same. I'll be back to check on him before he goes upstairs."

Della continued to hold Perry's hand to her cheek. "Did you hear that Perry? You're getting better... You can wake up now... We'll take you to my place and we can have your birthday dinner... It's one of your favorites... It's beef roast... You're going to be fine Perry... I love you so much."

Tragg tapped Paul on the shoulder and signaled for him to step outside. When they got out in the hallway he wanted to see Perry's notebook again.

Paul was reluctant at first. "May I see it first? I just need to see that he doesn't have something in there that he won't want _you_ to see."

Tragg frowned a bit. "I'll narrow it down for you, Drake. Let me at least see a page or two before the messages he wrote down in there today."

Paul paged through the notebook. Seeing nothing about anything related to Phyllis Monroe's defense, he turned the book over to Tragg.

Tragg looked through the book. He gave it back to Paul. "I'm heading back to West Hollywood then back to the office. Give me a call if something changes, will you?"

**PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

Before Perry was moved up to the Intensive Care Unit, another doctor performed a spinal tap for a cerebral spinal fluid sample to take to the hospital lab. Della was right back by Perry's side after the procedure. She stayed with him when he was taken to the ICU. Perry was given a sedative and pain killer through his IV.

_I'll get up now. I'm awake. Della. Beautiful Della. I'm so weak. Just get in the car. I need to get up. Beef roast. Dinner with Della. I'm so tired..._

After Perry was settled into the ICU it was nearly 2am. The emergency room doctor allowed Della to stay with Perry as long as she'd not interfere with any of his treatment. The night shift nurses set her up with a comfortable chair next to his bed and a blanket. Paul left the hospital with Perry's belongings and told Della that he was going to meet with Tragg at Police Headquarters.

Paul found Tragg in the file room of the Homicide Division. "I thought you'd be out of here a long time ago." Paul lit a cigarette.

"When a lead presents itself, I find it best to follow-up on it right away. I've been reading over the file on Delores Monroe's murder. She was Marshall Monroe's first wife. That case was investigated by Lieutenant Ames who retired in December. It's still an Open-Unsolved status."

"Della was talking to me and Perry about the Monroe's... I should have paid closer attention to what she was saying. She was telling us about what she had read in the gossip columns about them. We just laughed it off. That killing was last summer wasn't it?"

"Back in August. From what I've read in the file so far, it looks pretty odd to me. He reported his wife missing – she didn't return home from a shopping trip one afternoon. We left it as a standard Missing Person case at first since she'd only been missing for a few hours. He was furious with the detective assigned and protested all the way to the Captain. When he got the brush-off from the Captain who told him that we don't do much of an investigation for at least 24 hours unless there are extenuating circumstances, he took his case to the newspapers. By the next day he had organized an all out search at his own expense. Funny thing that _he_ discovered his wife's dead body in the trunk of her car – just a block from where he organized the search party to meet."

"How was she killed?"

"Stabbed to death. All evidence pointed to Marshall Monroe as the killer, but he had an alibi. He was with the victim's sister at the time that the Coroner said was the time of death. Lt. Ames couldn't break that alibi and the DA wouldn't charge the case. So it's Open-Unsolved."

"You have a lot of work to do, Lieutenant. If there's something I can do on either of the Monroe cases, let me know. I'll do anything that I can to find out if that case is related to Perry's injuries."

Tragg shot Paul a sarcastic look. "I think that the LAPD can handle this, Drake." He then looked at Paul with a softer look on his face. "Keep me posted on Perry's status, though. Della's not taking this so well. I'll do anything to help her out."

Paul left to go and return Perry's belongings to his apartment, and take a closer look around to see if Perry left any clues behind. Finding no new information, he went home to take a shower and change clothes for what he thought was going to be a long day ahead of him.

**DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

The night nurses in the ICU watched Della through the dim lighting as she sat close to Perry's side holding his hand and quietly talking to him.

"Is she his wife? They don't have the same last name."

"She's his personal secretary. She looks so devoted to him. It's a shame that he's hurt so bad. I'm going to offer her some coffee."

The head nurse walked over and adjusted Perry's pillow a bit. "We made some fresh coffee, Miss Street. Would you like a cup?"

Della looked up wearily at the kind nurse. "Is it too much trouble? I mean I could go out to the lounge..."

"Nonsense. It's no trouble at all. Do you take cream or sugar?"

"Just plain black is fine, thank you."

The nurse brought the cup of coffee. "His vitals are improving. I think you're helping a lot just by being with him." She adjusted Perry's blanket and checked his IV line.

Della gratefully accepted the cup of coffee. "Thank you..." She looked back to Perry. "It's his birthday today. I prepared a dinner for him and when he didn't show up..." She paused and sighed. "It's so hard to see him like this..." She sipped her coffee and glanced at her watch. "Oh my. It's _not _his birthday any more. I guess I've lost track of time."

The nurse adjusted the blanket around Della's shoulder. "Stay with him. I think he knows that you're here. If you need anything, just let me know." The nurse checked on Perry again and returned to her desk.

Della took Perry's limp hand again and interlaced her fingers with his. She leaned in closer to him.

"I'm wearing the green dress that you said you liked so much. You probably don't remember saying that to me. I first wore it last summer when we took that long drive along the coast... You told me that we had to go and drop off some papers for an old client to sign, but I know that you just wanted to take me out for lunch. I'm also wearing the Van Cleef & Arpels earrings and necklace that you bought for me when we spent the day in Beverly Hills on Rodeo Drive. I don't know why you're so good to me, Perry."

_I feel so weak. I need to get up. That voice. A beautiful voice. My girl Della. Lunch? Roast beef for dinner. I need some sleep. So pretty... The green dress. My head hurts so bad..._

"There are a lot of things that I found out about you this past year. Some day we'll talk about how you got my apartment for me... and why you're subsidizing the cost of the rent from your personal office bank account. You're an amazing man, Perry Mason. I'm so glad that I met you... You could be with any woman in the world but here you are... loving me... spoiling me... taking care of me when I was sick...

_I'm so hungry. Roast beef. I can't move my arms. I need to get up. Dinner with my girl, Della. Della... I don't feel so good..._

"I felt so bad when we had to cancel our trip to Carmel in February. I was so looking forward to going away with you for a long weekend." Della looked around the room to see where the nurses were. She leaned even closer to Perry and lowered her voice even quieter. "I've often wondered what it would be like to spend the whole night with you. To dance the night away and then make love with you for the rest of the night... To drift off to sleep in your arms... to wake up with you in the morning... and see your head on a pillow next to mine..."

_My arms are so weak. I better get up. Della's place for dinner. My head hurts so bad... My girl Della. I love Della._

The nurse walked over to check on Perry again. Della checked her watch. It was nearly 5am. Della stood up to stretch a bit.

When the nurse was finished taking Perry's vitals she offered Della more coffee.

"Thank you, but maybe later. I think I'll go freshen up a bit and when I get back I might take another cup of coffee. I hope it's no trouble for you..."

"It's no trouble at all. Go ahead and freshen up. We'll keep an eye on him for you."

Della was returning to the room and met Paul in the hallway outside of Perry's room.

"Hi Della." Paul gave her a hug. "Is there any change?"

"They're saying that his vitals are stable – he's showing some improvement. But he's still unconscious. Have you been out all night?"

"Sort of... Lt. Tragg shared some background on the Monroe case. He thinks that Perry was working on some lead when he was assaulted so this might all be related to Marshall Monroe's murder. I offered my assistance, but he wasn't exactly in need of anything from _me_. He's very concerned about Perry, though, if that's any consolation."

They walked back into Perry's room together. The nurse was taking Perry's blood pressure.

When she was through taking Perry's pulse, the nurse glanced up and noticed Paul with Della. "There's no significant change in his vitals. The doctor will be by soon on the rounds before the shift change. He might be able to tell you more."

Paul took a good look at the attractive nurse and thanked her for the update. She offered him a cup of coffee.

"That's the best offer I've had all night! I'd love a cup... If it's not any trouble..." Paul looked her up and down as the nurse walked away.

"Mr. Drake, your mouth is hanging open." Della took Paul by his arm and sat him down in a chair next to hers.

"Sorry. It's my lack of sleep."

**PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

By 6am the night shift doctor was making the rounds with the day shift relief. Della and Paul stood up from the side of Perry's bed as the medical teams gave their updates. The lights in the ICU were turned on making the room brighter. Della recognized one of the doctors right away.

"Dr. Wagner! Are you assigned to Perry?"

"Della! What are you doing here?" He walked to her side placing his clipboard under his arm to put an arm around here.

"Perry was brought in last night." Della eyes started to tear up.

Dr. Wagner took out the clipboard and paged through the sheets of paper on his board. "Well I'll be... Perry Mason. Closed head trauma..."

"Will you be his doctor today?"

"I'm sorry that I won't be, Della. I'm just doing the rounds so that our night shift can go home. I've been in Pediatrics all night. We'll be handing over the reins to the day shift soon. Later today I'll be back over at St. Christopher's for the weekly wellness exams of the children. What happened to Perry?"

"He was hit over the head... He's still out cold..." Della got too emotional to continue.

Paul took up the conversation. "We think that he was investigating a lead on a murder case. He got hit over the head by someone. Fortunately, two Police patrolmen found him in a vacant house and brought him in. Della's been with him all night."

Dr. Wagner put his arm back around Della's shoulder. "Well I'm so sorry to hear that. He's getting the best care around here. It looks like he's showing improvement. According to his chart, he's scheduled to see a Neurosurgeon first thing this morning. I wish I would have known that you were here. I can only offer moral support, however."

"It's just nice to see a familiar face. The staff has done an outstanding job so far. I just wish he was awake."

"He's had a very serious injury, Della. But like I said, he's getting the best care possible right here. As a matter of fact, he's going to see Dr. Parker. He's one of the best Neurosurgeon's in the region."

"I don't understand. Why does he need a surgeon?"

"His head injury is very serious. All head injuries are. And his level of consciousness will require special intervention which could involve surgery. Dr. Parker will likely explain his treatment plan thoroughly after he sees him."

Paul posed his question. "How soon will Dr. Parker be seeing him?"

Dr. Wagner looked at his watch. "Probably before 9am."

Della and Paul watched the day shift medical team take over the care of Perry which included changing his linens and hospital gown. They stepped out for coffee.

Della kept glancing at her watch as she and Paul sat in the hospital cafeteria. The pleasant aroma of breakfast food filled the air.

Paul offered to buy Della something for breakfast.

"Thanks, but I'm not hungry Paul. This coffee is enough. Do you think we should get back up to his room? I don't want us to miss Dr. Parker's visit."

Paul convinced Della to at least eat a pastry with her coffee and they returned to Perry's room.

Della immediately resumed her vigil at Perry's side watching the day shift go about their duties. Another patient was brought into the unit, so the nurses were busy getting the new patient settled into a bed. Della continued holding Perry's hand and by 8:30 Paul left the room to find a pay phone. He offered to contact Gertie at the office to advise her of the situation and clear Perry and Della's schedule for the day.

_My head hurts so bad. I should get up. I feel so weak. That feels so soft. I'm so hungry. My head hurts so bad. Roast beef. My girl Della. Feels so soft..._

Della suddenly felt Perry's hand twitch. He then gripped her hand. It was a slow, gentle movement at first then a stronger grip.

"Perry? Can you hear me? I'm here Perry. Squeeze my hand." Della turned towards the nurses back at their station. "Nurse? He squeezed my hand! I think he squeezed my hand!"

The nurses quickly came to Perry's bed and Della stepped back out of their way.

One nurse quickly began taking his vital signs and the head nurse took his hand.

"Mr. Mason? Can you hear me? Squeeze my hand if you can hear me."

The head nurse looked to the nurse taking his vitals. "I got a response. It's weak, but he's squeezing my hand. Give the doctor a call right away." She turned her attention back to Perry. "Mr. Mason. I want you to squeeze my hand."

The response was stronger and a moment later Perry groaned. He pulled at the oxygen cannula in his nose. The nurse pulled it away for him.

"I'm glad you're with us, Mr. Mason. You're in the hospital. I don't want you to move your head. I just want you to squeeze my hand."

Paul walked in the room and stood behind Della. "What's going on?"

"He squeezed my hand, Paul. I think he's coming to!"

Perry continued to groan a bit and the nurse continued to hold his hand while talking to him. A few minutes later a doctor came into the room and was briefed by the nurse.

"That's a good sign. We need to keep him still, though." The doctor listened to Perry's chest and looked at his eyes and ears. "Mr. Mason? If you can hear me, open your eyes." He waited for a response.

The nurse told him that he squeezed her hand again. She explained that he pulled his oxygen away from his face. The doctor continued his examination and checked Perry's reflexes. When he finished, he walked over to the desk to write in the chart. The nurse adjusted Perry's pillow again and put the bed sheet back over his chest. She turned back to Paul and Della.

"I think he's coming around. We just have to keep him very still. Go ahead and sit with him again."

Della sat down right away and took Perry's hand. "I'm here, Perry. You're in the hospital. You're going to be just fine." Perry gently squeezed her hand.

Just before 9 o'clock Dr. Barry Parker came in to examine Perry. He checked in with the nurses and began reading Perry's chart. Della was pleased that Dr. Parker appeared to be an experienced physician. He was in his mid-50's, well-groomed, with graying hair around his ears. He made his way over to Perry's bed and introduced himself.

"Good morning. I'm Dr. Parker. I'm a Neurosurgeon here at Cedars-Sinai. I've been asked to look into Mr. Mason's case."

Paul began their introductions. "I'm Paul Drake, an associate of Mr. Mason's and this is Miss Della Street, Mr. Mason's confidential secretary."

Dr. Parker spoke very smooth and calm. "I'm pleased to meet you both. I saw you recently, Miss Street, when you received your award a couple of weeks ago. Congratulations. That must have been an exciting night for you."

"Oh... thank you doctor..." Della looked at the doctor with a worried look on her face. "We're very worried about Perry. They mentioned surgery..."

"That's a possibility. Let me take a look at him and I'll let you know our treatment plan."

Della and Paul stood nearby as Dr. Parker did his exam. Towards the end of his exam Perry was mumbling and able to move his arms.

"Mr. Mason, I want you to open your eyes and keep them open."

Perry's eyes twitched open a bit then shut right away.

"I need you to open your eyes and look at me, Mr. Mason." When Perry didn't respond, Dr. Parker held Perry's eyes open and used his pen light to examine Perry's eyes. He removed his fingers away from Perry's eyes. "Mr. Mason, I want you to open your eyes for me." Perry held his eyes open and the doctor continued looking into his eyes with the pen light.

"Mr. Mason. I want you to follow my finger movement with your eyes. Don't move your head, just move your eyes."

The doctor moved his finger in front of Perry's face. Perry groaned, but his eyes stared straight ahead.

"Give it a try. Follow my finger movement with your eyes."

Perry mumbled something softly and Dr. Parker moved closer to hear what Perry was trying to say.

"Watch my finger movement. Can you see my finger here?"

Perry's reply was clearer.

"I... I... can't see anything..."

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Dr. Parker stepped away from Perry's bed and walked over to the nurse's station with his chart. Della moved closer to Perry's bed.

"Della?" Perry's voice was still scratchy and he sounded very groggy.

Della sat down in the chair and took his hand. "I'm right here, Perry."

"I knew it was you... My favorite fragrance." Perry's eyes were wide open but he stared straight ahead with his big blue eyes...

"Shhhh. You don't need to speak right now..." Della was consoling.

"Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital. You have quite a bump on your head. So stay still."

"I can't see, Della... I need to get up." Perry tried lifting his head.

Della stopped him right away. "Don't move, Perry. You need to be still."

Paul walked over closer to the bed to help Della keep Perry calm. "Hiya Perry! I can think of better ways for you to try and get me to meet pretty nurses!"

"Paul? What happened?"

"That's what we're working on right now. We can talk about it later. Right now you need to stay still and let the doctor take care of you."

"What time is it?"

Della looked at the wall clock. "It's almost 9:30." She continued holding his hand and brought it up to her lips.

"Is my doctor here? What hospital am I in?"

"You're at Cedars-Sinai. Dr. Barry Parker is the doctor taking care of you right now. I'm told that he's the best Neurosurgeon in the area. You should just rest, Perry."

"Neurosurgeon? Did I have surgery?"

"No, but you have quite a bump on your head. You just need to try and relax." Della saw Dr. Parker coming back to Perry's bed. "Here's Dr. Parker again."

The doctor placed his hand on Perry's arm. "Mr. Mason? I'm Dr. Barry Parker. It's nice to meet you. I wish it was under better circumstances, though. You have quite a stellar reputation in the legal profession. But right now, I'm concerned about your health. You've had a bad head injury and obviously it's affecting your vision right now. I'm going to order more x-rays of your head to fully view the extent of your injury. I'll be honest with you, a blow to the head like you took can obviously cause a multitude of problems. We performed a lumbar puncture last night to test your cerebral spinal fluid..."

Perry raised his free hand to interrupt the doctor. "Lumbar puncture? Last night? How long have I been here?"

Dr. Parker took his hand and eased it back down onto Perry's chest. "They brought you in last evening. It's Monday morning..."

Perry slowly turned his head to the side and closed his eyes showing his frustration. "Monday? There's so much to do..."

Dr. Parker stopped him. "I'm afraid that if there's anything to be done, _you_ won't be doing it until we get you healthy again. Let me finish here and tell you what I suspect. The slightly abnormal results from the analysis of your CSF indicates inflammation – particularly around your brain. The pressure surrounding your brain may be affecting your vision in one of several ways. You might be suffering a vitreous hemorrhage which caused your blood vessels in your eyes to bleed into the vitreous substance of your eyes. That _can_ clear up with time. When I read your x-rays again I'll look for signs of an injury to the occipital cortex region of your brain which has been known to cause blindness. And finally, another complication could be damage to your optic nerve. The pressure in your skull on your brain could be choking off the nerves which carry signals from your eyes to your brain. That _might_ be the cause of your vision loss. In some cases, surgery is required to help relieve that pressure. That type of surgery is my specialty. I just need more x-rays and other tests before I make that determination. Until I review all of your test results further, I need you to rest."

Dr. Parker looked to Paul and Della.

Della spoke up right away. "There you have it, Perry. You need rest. Paul and I have everything under control. And Lt. Tragg is looking into who assaulted you." She kissed his hand again.

Perry's eyes were closed and he swallowed hard. "I'd like some water. I'm really thirsty."

Dr. Parker called for the nurse and she walked over to him right away. "Let's start him on some ice chips. Go ahead and order up that x-ray series." He put his hand on Perry's chest. "Well that's all I can tell you for now, Mr. Mason. Your associates are taking care of everything for you so you just need to stay still and rest. I'll be back with you this afternoon once I read your test results."

Perry spoke softly to thank the doctor and turned his head back to the side again.

Della let go of Perry's hand to signal the doctor to wait so she could speak with him away from Perry. Paul saw her move away and stepped over to the edge of Perry's bed placing his hand on Perry's shoulder.

"Tragg's got his men all over this, Perry. So far we figured that you were lured to that vacant house by someone who ambushed you. Now I don't want you to get all worked up over this, but if you can tell me anything you remember about going to that house, it might help us out."

Perry opened his eyes and just blinked staring straight ahead. "It was a woman. On the phone she told me that there was a file in that house. Said the file would clear up the Monroe murder."

"Okay, pal. Just take it easy. Now I think I've got an idea of why you were there."

The nurse brought Perry some ice chips. "Here you go Mr. Mason. I'm going to give you some ice chips that I have on a spoon. Just give me your hand and I'll help you bring the spoon to your mouth."

Perry got the ice chips in his mouth and started to chew them. "More... please?"

The nurse gave him another spoonful.

Perry swallowed more ice. "Thank you. Maybe more in a minute?"

"Whatever makes you comfortable. I'll check with the doctor and see if we can bring you some broth."

Paul watched the nurse walk away again. "I'd love to stay around here and watch these beautiful nurses spoon feed you, Perry, but I think I'm going to go check with Tragg and compare notes again."

"Della. Where's Della?"

"She just stepped out of the room. I'll stay here until she gets back, Perry."

Della asked Dr. Parker what the chances were for Perry to regain his sight.

"I can't be certain of that at this point. Like I said, if there's pressure on that optic nerve, like I suspect right now, and I can relieve that pressure, he has a good chance for his vision to come back to normal. I need more precise x-rays to confirm that. The important thing for him right now is to rest and stay still."

Della thanked the doctor and returned to Perry's bedside. Before she could speak Perry caught her scent and reached out for her.

"Della?"

"I'm here, Perry." Della took his hand.

"What did the doctor tell you?"

Della looked to Paul and shook her head smiling – how did he know that she was talking with the doctor she thought? She looked back to Perry. "He told me the same thing that he told you – you need to rest and stay still. And I think that Paul and I are going to let you do that now that we know you're doing better. I'm going to go in to the office while you rest and I'll be back here this afternoon."

Perry squeezed her hand gently. "Please tell the nurse to come back over here before you go."

Paul piped in right away. "I'll gladly take care of that. See ya later, Perry." He walked towards the nurse's station.

Della sat down and brought Perry's hand back up to her cheek. She turned her head to kiss his hand. "You know I love you..."

"I love you, too, baby."

Della gave him a gentle kiss on his forehead before she left.

**PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

When Paul walked into Tragg's office, he was just getting off of the phone. He slammed the phone down and scratched at the stubble on his face.

"What's the latest from the hospital, Drake?"

Paul sat down on the edge of Tragg's desk and lit a cigarette. "He's awake now. But he can't see."

Tragg looked very concerned. "Can't _see_?"

"As in his eyes are open and he can't see. He had an examination by the Neurosurgeon. He'll be doing more tests and x-rays before he knows what they can do for him. His blindness might only be a temporary thing."

Tragg sat back in his chair clasping his hands together under his chin. "How's Della taking all of this?"

"She's concerned of course, but she knows he's getting good care. I just dropped her off at the office so Perry can rest after his hospital tests. She'll go back this afternoon."

"I'm about to head out of here myself. I need a little sleep. Did Perry remember anything about what he was doing in that vacant house?"

"Said he was there to get a file from a desk inside that house. The phone call that lured him there was from a female caller who told him that the file would help him out with the Monroe murder."

"Hmmm. Female caller, huh? Couldn't have been Phyllis Monroe from jail... Said it was a file, huh?" Tragg leaned forward clasping his hands together on his desk. "I have a hunch..."

"I'm still more than willing to help you out on this. If you need to go and get some rest, I can do some legwork for you."

"While I appreciate your offer, I don't want to mess this case up for any future prosecution. How will it look in court if I have to testify that I had to have a private detective help out with a murder investigation? But if _you_ want to share any information that _you_ have, I'm more than willing to work on your information..."

Paul exhaled smoke from his cigarette and tapped an ash into the ashtray on Tragg's desk. "I still don't think that Phyllis Monroe had anything to do with her husband's death. I think that he was stepping out on her and..."

"There's our motive. Jealous wife. Her prints all over the murder weapon. Blood all over her clothing. Multiple blunt-force trauma injuries are a good indicator of a crime of passion by someone close to the victim. One blow to his head would have been enough, but in her jealous rage she struck him time after time until his head was barely identifiable..." Tragg's voice trailed off describing the murder scene.

"Jealousy works two ways. Could have been a jealous mistress... Have you found anything that makes it related to Delores Monroe's murder?"

"Don't go there, Drake! That investigation is best left to me and the Homicide Division."

"You have your hands full. I just thought I'd help." Paul snuffed out his cigarette. "Get some rest, Lieutenant. I'll be out and about working _my_ angles."

Too tired to argue any further, Tragg let Paul walk out without any smart-aleck comments.

**DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

Della walked into the office and found Gertie on the phone trying to reschedule a meeting with a client. She picked up the mail and signaled to Gertie that she'd be in her office when Gertie was through with the call. She got to her desk and put away her purse while she sorted the mail in a stack on her desk. Gertie walked in with a worried look on her face.

"Oh my gosh, Della! What happened to Mr. Mason? Is he okay? Will he be in the hospital very long? I feel just terrible for him! He's such a dear man..."

Della managed to calm Gertie by placing a hand on Gertie's shoulder. "He's showing signs of improvement. He has a serious head injury. But for right now, we need to keep his condition confidential. Are you having any problems canceling the meetings on the schedule?"

"Not really. I've just been telling them that Mr. Mason has had an emergency situation come up. They understand and most wish him well."

"Nice work, Gertie. I'll only be here a little while myself. I need to finish a few things here and head home before I go back to the hospital. I hate to leave you here all by yourself to deal with this."

"It's no problem at all. If I need to step away I just turn over the phones to the answering service. But I _do_ have another concern about all this..."

Della looked up from sorting the mail. "We all have concerns and I'm sure there will be many questions. I might not have all the answers, but we'll get through this somehow... What's bothering you?"

"Well there was one call that I found strange. A woman called to ask what hospital Mr. Mason was in. She wouldn't tell me her name. From what Paul told me on the phone, you know, to not say anything about Mr. Mason being hurt, I just thought I'd play dumb and act like I didn't know anything about what she was talking about. Like you said, we need to keep this quiet, so I just offered to take a message. She hung up."

"That _is_ odd. But you did the right thing. We'll just continue to tell clients that were scheduled to be here this week that he's not available due to an emergency. I'll look through the schedule soon and see what I can do to help some of them later this week."

When Della finished the mail, she gathered a few things for her portfolio briefcase and left Gertie in the office. Before noon she drove her company car home almost nodding off on the way due to her lack of sleep. By the time she got into her apartment she was too tired to undress so she laid on her bed in her dress and dozed off.

Della woke up after a short nap and saw that it was nearly 2 o'clock. She got up right away to shower and change clothes. Before she left to go back to the hospital, she packed up Perry's birthday cake to take to the hospital workers. With a thermos of coffee and the birthday cake, Della made it back to the hospital just after 3 o'clock.

Perry was still in intensive care and his sedation kept him drowsy. Della brought the cake to the nurse's station for the nurses to enjoy in their break room. The grateful staff insisted that Della keep a small piece of cake to share with Perry when he would feel up for it. Della sat down by Perry's bed where he was resting peacefully with the IV bottle dripping medicine into his veins.

Within five minutes Perry stirred. "Della? Is that you?" He lifted his hand to reach out for her.

"I'm here, Perry. I didn't mean to wake you."

"I've been awake all day. Your scent. It's so nice."

"I didn't think my perfume was that strong... I brought along your birthday cake to share with the hospital staff up here in ICU. You can have a bite if you feel up to it." Della held onto his hand and got comfortable in the chair.

"What time is it?"

"It's nearly 3:30. Did Dr. Parker see you with your test results yet?"

"I don't know. I hear their voices. I'm not sure who they are. I'm glad that you're here."

"I went into the office and then took a nap at home. Everything is fine in the office. We've rescheduled all the appointments for this week. We're not giving out a lot of information. We just tell clients that you've had an emergency situation and you won't be in the office."

"Where's Paul? I need to talk to Paul."

"He'll be here soon. He's been checking on information that Lt. Tragg shared with him. You just need to get well and let Paul take care of the investigative work."

Perry turned his head to the side and frowned. His voice was soft and fading. "I need to get out of here. Mrs. Monroe... needs us to find..." He drifted off to sleep mid-sentence.

**PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

Paul made it to the hospital by 4:30. "How's he doing?"

Della was sipping coffee from the cup top on her thermos bottle. "He drifts in an out. He's out right now. He's been asking for you."

"What did the doctor say?"

"He hasn't been by yet that I know of. The nurse at shift change said that Dr. Parker will probably stop by here soon. Did you get any rest?"

"No. But I did come up with more information to check out. I'll be heading over to Iverson Oil Company first thing tomorrow morning. I tried calling Tragg, but he hasn't been in to his office yet."

"Well you better keep me informed about where you are. And take another man with you. This whole case bothers me."

Perry woke up when he heard Paul and Della talking. "Paul? Is that you?"

"I'm here, Perry. With Della. We're waiting for Dr. Parker to stop by."

"I think you should head over to Iverson Oil Company..."

"I know what you're thinking. I'm all over it, Perry. I have a meeting there tomorrow morning."

Perry's eyes were wide open and he blinked staring straight ahead. "Why not now? Today? Tonight? There's a lot to do before Mrs. Monroe's hearing."

"Don't get so worked up, Perry. Their front office is pretty much shut down for Marshall Monroe's funeral right now. I stopped by the mortuary on the way here. I have a few things to check out tonight before I fall asleep."

"There's a lot more to this story. Damn! I need to get out of here..."

Della sensed Perry's frustration but talked to him in a stern voice. "Right now, Mr. Mason, you need to rest and let us take care of business! Paul has been up all day and night tracking down information! Don't you trust us? Honestly, Perry! Do you know how serious your head injury is? For once in your life, let someone help _you_!" She stopped the scolding when Dr. Parker walked into ICU. Perry turned his head to the side, swallowed hard and closed his eyes again.

After stopping at the nurse's station to get Perry's chart Dr. Parker approached Perry's bed. He put his hand on Perry's arm. "Mr. Mason? Dr. Parker, here. How are you feeling?"

Perry sighed. "I feel just fine. When will I be getting out of here?"

"Well that's what I'm here to talk to you about. Let me do a quick exam and I'll give you my opinion."

Della and Paul stepped away from the bed so Dr. Parker could take a closer look at Perry.

Paul started talking to Della quietly. "He's so stubborn. I hope your stern lecture will sink in."

"We're all just tired. But don't let him pressure you into taking risks. I don't need both of you in the hospital..."

Dr. Parker finished his exam and motioned for Paul and Della to come back to Perry's bedside.

"Mr. Mason, your associates are here with us now. If you want me to talk privately with you, I'll ask them to leave."

Perry felt defeated and mumbled his response. "It's okay for them to hear what you have to say."

"Okay... Your head injury will require surgery for you to heal. Frankly, I'm surprised that you're even conscious and talking from what I've seen in your test results. We need to relieve the pressure on your brain. It's a delicate operation, but I've been very successful with the procedure I use. I'd like to perform the operation tomorrow morning."

Perry's eyes just stared straight ahead blinking slowly. Then he closed his eyes. "Della?"

"I'm right here, Perry." Della took his hand.

"What should I do?"

"You should take Dr. Parker's advice. He knows what he's doing. You're in good hands. We'll get you through this." She leaned in and kissed his hand.

"My girl says we take your advice, Doc. How long will I be in here after the operation?"

"That all depends on the healing process. Without any complications, you could be out of here within a week."

Perry turned his head to the side again. "Paul?"

"Right here, Perry."

"Put all the men you need on this investigation. I won't be able to help you out for a while."

Paul didn't waste another minute getting ready to leave. "I'll be in touch, Della. And I'll be here before you go into surgery, Perry. Get some rest."

Dr. Parker's nurse prepared the signature form for permission to do the operation and it was read out loud to Perry. He authorized Della to sign the form and they helped him sign an "X" next to Della's signature. The nurse left Perry and Della alone.

"You're doing the right thing, Perry. Dr. Parker is the best in the business." Della brought his hand up to her cheek.

"I trust your judgment, Della. Always have... Always will..."

"I'm sorry if I upset you earlier. I know how uncomfortable you are..."

Perry brought his other hand up to her face. "I miss seeing your face. Your smile."

Della put her hands over his. "And I miss the twinkle in your beautiful blue eyes. Let's get you healthy so we can talk about that marriage issue again."

Perry cracked a weary smile. "I love you."

**DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

Della left the hospital at 8pm when visiting hours were over and made it into the office as dusk fell over the city. Paul was at Perry's desk when she walked in.

"Hiya Della. Any change?"

"No. He'll get a lot of rest tonight. He's due in surgery at 9am." She sat down in a chair by the desk.

"I'll pick you up and bring you to the hospital if you want. We should probably be there early."

"That sounds fine with me. He dozed off before I could say good-night to him. They added more sedatives in his IV to make him sleep."

"Any idea how long the surgery will take?"

"Up to five hours. Then recovery for another couple of hours. I want to stay there unless you need help with something."

"I'll handle everything tomorrow. I'll be at Iverson Oil right after he goes into surgery. Perry's probably thinking the same thing that I am – start at the very beginning. I've got a hunch that I need to follow-up on after I stop at Iverson Oil."

"A hunch? What are you thinking? I'd like to know where you might be going."

"Tragg told me that Marshall Monroe had an alibi for his first wife's murder. Something about being with his sister-in-law. I found her name through a buddy on the PD." Paul thumbed through his notebook. "Her name's Diane Keller. That's what I'll be checking on..."

"You look as tired as I feel. Did you get any rest today? I hope you had something to eat since that pastry this morning."

"I should say the same about you! How about if we go and put a quick dinner on Perry's tab down at Clay's?"

"Just give me five minutes and I'll be ready to go. I'm starving!"

**PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

When she got home, Della tossed and turned all night trying to sleep. She would doze off for an hour and then wake up thinking about Paul's hunch and worrying about Perry's operation. She got out of bed and wrote notes to herself to remind her where to look up more information on Diane Keller. She'd drift off to sleep on her couch and wake up again to write more notes. At 2am she finally gave in to her curiosity. She took a shower, dressed, and then drove in to the office where she had more research capabilities.

She was still in the office at 4:30am when Paul saw the office lights on and tapped on the back door.

Della unlocked the back door. "What in the world, Paul...?"

"I should say the same to you! I couldn't sleep, either. What have you found out about Diane Keller?"

"I'm glad you asked." Della brought out her file. "Apparently she and Marshall Monroe were in a relationship for a short time over a year ago. All that I've found so far is that Marshall left her to date her sister, Delores. Diane threatened to jump from 'Suicide Bridge' in Pasadena and the Police got her locked up in the LA County Poor Farm at Rancho Los Amigos Hospital."

"Suicide Bridge? Where did you come up with that?"

"You've never heard of it? The Colorado Street Bridge? Lots of people have jumped off that bridge."

"You're a wealth of information, Della. We're gonna make Perry proud when we get this figured out."

"Well anyway, when you mentioned that Diane was an alibi for Marshall during his first wife's murder, and you thought that Marshall was murdered by a woman scorned..."

"I don't know how you come up with this information in the middle of the night, but did you happen to come up with an address or phone number for Diane? I know that Tragg's looking for her, but he didn't seem to be hot on her trail so I don't think he has an address."

"Funny you should ask. I have three recent addresses for her that I dug out from job applications she made through an employment agency. The closest and most recent address is in Bakersfield."

"You're amazing. How do you do all this at this hour?"

"It's a secretary's secret..."

Paul looked at his watch. "It's only ten minutes to five. This time of day, I can get up there and back in plenty of time before Perry goes into surgery. I can at least check the address and get another man to sit on it when I leave. It might be my only shot to find her right now."

"You're not going up there at this time of the day without me. Let's get going!"

Paul and Della found the address at an apartment building in Bakersfield. Diane Keller used that address for a waitress job application in Los Angeles. As the sun was starting to come up, Della waited in the car while Paul began looking through cars in the parking lot to see if Diane Keller had a car registered there in her name. He came up with a car registered to 'Dee Kellerman'. He checked the mailboxes at the apartment and found that apartment 4B was listed to 'D. Keller'. Paul got back in the car.

"Let's find a phone booth so I can get a hold of a man to sit on this place. I think she's in apartment 4B. I don't want to confront her right now if she's in there. She used an alias to register that car over in the lot. She's worth following for a while before I talk to her."

"We passed a phone booth about a block away. I hope your operative can get here soon. It's 6:45 and it took us over an hour to get here."

Paul woke up one of his operatives, Stan Grimes, who lived near Bakersfield. Stan told Paul that he could be at the apartment within 30 minutes. Della got a nervous feeling inside.

"I hope he gets here faster than 30 minutes. We can't be late getting back to the hospital. Perry will expect to see us before he goes into surgery. I'm so nervous about all this."

Paul lit a cigarette. "He's a reliable man. He'll get here and we'll make it to see Perry in plenty of time."

It took nearly 40 minutes, but Stan showed up and Paul briefed him on the surveillance he needed on Diane Keller. Without a photograph to show Stan, Paul asked him to set himself up to watch the front door to the apartment building and the car parked in the lot. Paul took off right away for the hour-plus drive back to Los Angeles.

**DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

"Good morning, Mr. Mason. Are you awake?" The nurse put her hand on Perry's arm to let him know that she was there.

"I'm awake. What time is it?"

"It's almost 8:30. We need to get you ready for your operation. I need to shave a small spot on your scalp and scrub you up."

"Do I have any visitors? They were going to come by before my operation."

"I haven't seen anyone. Why don't I go check the waiting room for you before we begin?"

Perry slowly nodded at her suggestion. He frowned and turned his head to the side wondering if he'd see Della or Paul before his surgery.

The nurse returned after checking for visitors around the waiting room and talking with other nurses.

"I'm sorry Mr. Mason, I don't see anyone waiting. Why don't we get you scrubbed up?"

"Thank you for looking. I guess I'm ready to go." Perry closed his eyes as he felt his bed moving.

Paul and Della made good time getting back to Los Angeles, but they came upon a major traffic jam on the outskirts of town around 8:25.

Paul was getting impatient in the slow traffic. "I wonder what the damn hold-up is. This traffic is ridiculous!"

"I hope it's not a serious accident or anything. We still have a little time." Della was trying to stay calm on the outside, but inside she was really nervous. She just had to see Perry before the operation.

It took them over five minutes to get through one major intersection near downtown Los Angeles and traffic was even thicker on the other side of the intersection. Paul had enough.

"Hold on, Della. We're getting out of here."

He reversed his car back into the intersection as other drivers honked and cursed at him. His tires squealed as he took a sharp left turn off of the one-way street onto a less-congested side street. Della hung onto the dashboard as Paul zigged and zagged his way along side streets and pulled up in front of the hospital by 8:35. Della got out of the car at the main doors and ran inside while Paul drove away to park the car.

Della walked quickly up to the ICU and entered Perry's room out-of-breath. Perry's bed was gone. She walked over to the nurse's station.

"I'm looking for Mr. Mason. He's scheduled for surgery at 9."

The nurse looked at her watch. "Let me check on that for you." She dialed the phone on her desk. She looked back to Della while she waited for an answer on the phone. "He was looking for visitors a little while ago..."

Paul came into the ICU, saw the empty space where Perry's bed had been, and then found Della at the nurse's station.

Della looked at Paul. "She's trying to find Perry." Della had a sinking feeling in her heart. "He was looking for us. We might be too late."

**TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

The surgical nurse finished prepping Perry for his operation and phoned the operating room to notify the surgical team of Perry's status. When the nurse finished the call she returned to Perry's bedside and touched his shoulder.

"Dr. Parker is on his way here to see you before we take you to the operating room. Just before we go into the operating suite, we'll be getting you in a sterile hospital gown and cleansing the area that I just shaved. Do you have any questions right now, Mr. Mason?"

Perry was feeling a little drowsy and talked slowly. He looked worried. "I wonder if any visitors are here to see me?"

The nurse sensed his concern and relieved his worries right away. "I believe your visitors are waiting back in your room in the ICU. I'll speak with the ICU nurse so they can arrange to see you before you go into the operating room. You'll be feeling sleepy soon because I had to put a sedative in your IV."

Dr. Parker entered the surgery-prep suite and put his hand on Perry's shoulder. "Good morning, Mr. Mason. Dr. Parker here. We'll be starting your operation soon. Do you have any questions before we begin?"

Perry opened his eyes and stared straight ahead blinking slowly. "I think I'm ready. Will you please speak with my associates before you operate? They might have questions."

"I'll speak to them shortly. The ICU nurse is walking over here with them right now. Your sedative will be taking effect soon, so we can only have a short visit with them."

Paul and Della were brought into the surgery-prep suite. Della looked to Dr. Parker and he motioned for Della and Paul to come to Perry's side.

Della put her hand on Perry's arm. "I'm here, Perry. Paul is with me. How do you feel?"

"I'm sleepy... So glad you're here..." Perry closed his eyes.

Dr. Parker explained what will happen. "He's been given a sedative to make him drowsy before we administer anesthesia in the operating room. He's asked me to find out from you if you have any questions."

Della and Paul looked at each other and Paul shrugged his shoulders. Della spoke up. "Were there any changes overnight?"

"His vitals are still good. He slept well most of the night. I don't anticipate any problems with the operation." The nurse interrupted him. "Excuse me for a moment. I need to speak with the nurse." Dr. Parker stepped away.

Della took a hold of Perry's hand. "You're in good hands, Perry. I'll be with you when you come out of surgery." She kissed his hand. "I love you, Perry."

Perry's eyes were still closed and he lifted his other hand to reach out to Della. He spoke softly to her. "Love you Della... always..."

The sedative took effect and Perry's hand went limp. Della gently squeezed his hand before the nurse came to his bedside. Dr. Parker gave the nurse instructions and then he turned back to Della and Paul.

"We'll start the operation within 30 minutes. Do you know where the waiting room is?"

Della nodded. "I'll be waiting for him. Will you be the one who will tell me how he's doing after the operation?"

"Absolutely, Miss Street. And if you need anything while you're waiting, please let a nurse know. The nurses come through the waiting room occasionally. If everything goes like I hope it will, I'll be seeing you again in a few hours."

Della sighed as she and Paul watched Perry being wheeled down the hallway towards the operating room.

**PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

The waiting room was empty when Della and Paul settled in with their coffee and pastries from the cafeteria.

'I'm so glad that we got here in time, Paul. I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself if we missed seeing him before the operation."

"I'm really glad we made it here, too! According to the nurse in ICU he was asking the nurses to look all over for us! Whew... I sure cut it close. I'll be sure to be here when he comes out of surgery."

"Is there anything else that I can help you with right now?"

Paul finished his second pastry while looking through his notebook. "I can't think of anything right now. I'm going to check with my answering service and see if there's anything new from Bakersfield. Then I think I'll head over to Iverson Oil. Will you be okay here alone?"

Della was shuffling through papers in her briefcase. "I'll be fine here. I don't want to leave in case Dr. Parker comes out. I'll have to check Perry's answering service and then call the office to see how Gertie's doing. Will you please check in with Gertie so I have an idea of where you are?"

"I have a better idea." Paul spotted a phone in the waiting room. "I wonder if that phone over there accepts outside calls? I could just try to call you here. I'll check on that right now." Paul was looking at a nurse walking by and got up to chase her down. He returned a few minutes later.

"To get a call through to this phone in here I'll need to call the hospital operator and she can transfer the call in here. I'll try that to update you." Paul saw the weary look on Della's face. "Are you sure you'll be okay here by yourself?"

"I'll be fine, Paul. This coffee will help to keep me going. And if I can use this phone here occasionally, I can dig up more information on Diane Keller."

Paul gave Della a hug and left to go continue his investigation.

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With a scarf on her head, Diane Keller tightened the knot under her chin and put on her large sunglasses as she left the front door of her apartment building in Bakersfield. The pale yellow scarf nearly matched her blonde locks and complemented her light brown dress. She had the morning edition of the newspaper under her one arm and her over-sized purse on her other arm. Stan Grimes sat up behind the wheel of his car and brought his binoculars up to his eyes. He watched as she walked to her car and got in it. When she drove out onto the main road Stan started his car and began following her from a distance. Over 90 minutes later Diane Keller was parked in the lot at Los Angeles County General Hospital. Stan parked nearby and found a phone booth to call Paul's office to report his status.

Diane left her sunglasses on as she walked into the hospital to the information desk. "I wonder if you can help me? I'm here to see my brother, Mr. Perry Mason. Would you please tell me what room he's in?"

The receptionist at the desk began looking through the file cards with names of the patients. "I don't see a 'Perry Mason' listed. Is it spelled 'M-A-S-O-N'?"

"Yes. That's correct. Hmmm... I heard that he was brought here from some sort of an accident. This _is_ the hospital that the Police bring accident victims to, isn't it? Could he be listed as 'John Doe' maybe?"

"I'm sorry, Miss. All patients here have been identified. What day was he supposed to have been admitted?"

Diane paused and thought for a moment. "Maybe he was brought to another hospital. I'll check other hospitals."

"Would you like me to phone the other LA County Hospital? Some people confuse our other medical facility at _UCLA Harbor_ General Hospital with this hospital."

"No need to do that. I'll find him." Diane walked out of the hospital. The puzzled receptionist watched Diane leave and then picked up the phone to dial a number.

Stan Grimes was still watching Diane's car from where he parked near a phone booth next to the hospital parking lot. He'd already left a message with Paul's office about following Diane Keller to Los Angeles.

Diane got back in her car and studied a road map looking for the UCLA Harbor Hospital. Frustrated at not finding Perry Mason in LA General Hospital, she looked around for a phone booth. When she spotted the phone booth nearby, she drove over to it and parked her car next to the curb. Diane took a small coin purse out of her bag and entered the phone booth to page through the phone book.

Stan Grimes was still parked near the same phone booth that Diane was using. He leaned back in the front seat of his car and brought out a newspaper to hide behind while he watched her.

She made several phone calls in the phone booth then got back into her car. She wondered why Perry Mason was not listed as a patient in any hospital nearby. She thought that she had hit him over the head hard enough to kill him, but she hadn't seen anything in the newspaper about his murder. Checking the hospitals was her only hope to find him – or so she thought. A man like Perry Mason would probably be in his office if he wasn't dead or injured. Diane dug around in her large purse and brought out a .38 caliber Smith & Wesson snub-nosed revolver. She held the gun low towards her lap and opened the cylinder to double check her ammunition. Satisfied that she was ready to use the weapon, she snapped the cylinder closed and returned it to her purse. After studying her road map again, she drove back downtown towards the Brent Building. She was certain that she'd find him in his office. Diane was determined to find Perry Mason and finish him off for sure this time.

Stan followed Diane downtown and watched her park at the Brent building. He lost sight of her when he couldn't find a parking spot near the building. He ran into the building lobby and located a pay phone right away to call Paul's office.

**DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

Paul spent most of the morning in the main offices at Iverson Oil Company. By noon most of his notebook was filled with bits of information that he had gathered. He found a pay phone to call Della at the hospital.

"Hello Beautiful. Any word on Perry yet?"

"Nothing yet. A nurse stopped by about 20 minutes ago and said that everything was going fine. Where are you?"

"I'm heading to County Records and then I'll be heading back to the hospital. I have lots of information for us."

"I've managed to find a few things also. Oh, and just so you know, Lt. Tragg stopped by here earlier. He's taken Perry's name off the list of patients registered here. He said that he had a concern for Perry's safety. He won't tell me why he's so concerned."

"Hmmm. That's interesting. Stay alert! I'll be there within the hour."

Paul called his office before leaving for County Records. He received three updates from Stan Grimes who managed to find Diane Keller again as she left the Brent Building and drove to a motel in Inglewood on La Brea Avenue. He called on another operative to go meet with Stan and take Stan's place watching Diane Keller. He got to the hospital at 1:15 and sat with Della.

"No word yet?"

"No. I'm getting nervous. If they started at 9 o'clock, it's been over four hours now."

"These delicate operations just take time. You said it yourself – he's in good hands. Has Tragg been back yet?"

"No. And that still concerns me about Perry not being listed as a patient. I know it's probably a smart thing to do, but what information did he come across that makes him concerned for Perry's safety?"

"It could be any number of things. He knows what he's doing. We'll just have to trust him. Oh, and I checked in with Gertie. Not much going on in the office, so I told her to close up shop and turn the phones over to the answering service. I hope that's okay with you."

"That's a good plan, Paul. Gertie has had her hands full. She can use a break. I might call her at her home later and tell her to take the rest of the week off."

Paul changed the subject. He didn't want Della to know that Diane Keller had been by the Brent Building yet and that's why he told Gertie to lock up the office and go home. That news could wait until after Perry's status is known he thought. "Have you eaten anything since this morning?"

"I'm too nervous to be hungry."

"Why don't I go to the cafeteria and find us some sandwiches?"

Della was contemplating Paul's offer when she saw Dr. Parker, still dressed in surgical scrubs, walking into the waiting room. She stood up right away.

"Miss Street? Mr. Drake? Why don't we go into this room to speak privately?"

Della and Paul followed Dr. Parker into the small room adjacent to the waiting area. Della slowly sat down in a chair. The tone in Dr. Parker's voice gave Della a worried look on her face.

Dr. Parker sat down next to Della and clasped his hands together in front of his lap. "Mr. Mason came through the procedure just fine. There were no complications. He's in recovery right now."

Della brought a hand up to her chest and looked up to Paul who stood behind her. He gripped her shoulder in support. She turned back to Dr. Parker with a look of relief. "That's wonderful news, Dr. Parker. Thank you. What happens now?"

"Well, he'll be in recovery for about an hour and then we'll bring him back to ICU. You'll be able to see him there, but he'll be groggy for another hour after that. I plan to examine him again at that time."

"Did the operation correct his vision? I mean, will he be able to see again?"

"I won't know that until after he wakes up. This operation only relieved the pressure on his brain. As the inflammation decreases, brain functions that have been disrupted by the injury should gradually return to normal."

"So we hope to see improvement little by little?" Della was optimistic.

"That's what I'm hoping."

Dr. Parker left Della and Paul in the room and a moment later Lt. Tragg and another Policeman walked in.

"That was the surgeon that just left, right? What's Perry's status?"

Della was surprised that Tragg was accompanied by a man in uniform. "He's out of surgery and in recovery. Dr. Parker said that there were no complications. It will be a while before we can go see him. Now maybe you can tell us about your concerns for Perry's safety."

**PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

Stan Grimes was briefing his relief man, Chuck Wentworth, about who he was going to be watching and what Diane Keller looked like. A Police patrol car drove up next to them with two of the LAPD's finest inside.

"You working for Paul Drake?"

Stan and Chuck approached the police car. "I'm Stan Grimes." Stan showed the Policemen his credentials. "And this is Chuck Wentworth. Do you have a message from Mr. Drake?"

"Nope. Our message is from Lieutenant Arthur Tragg of the Homicide Division. His message to you is, and I quote, 'beat it'!"

Stan and Chuck looked at each other. Stan was confused. "We're on an important case right now. Mr. Drake's instructions were clear..."

The Policemen got out of the patrol car. "Mr. Drake is not running things here. Unless you want your PI licenses revoked, you'll take our advice and scram. Now!"

Stan and Chuck walked away from the Police car. "Stay right here, Chuck. I'll go make a call to Mr. Drake from that phone booth down the block. We can still keep an eye on that motel room and not interfere with those cops."

Diane Keller took a peak out of her motel room window and watched the Police as they spoke with two men near a car. She laughed to herself. In about 30 minutes she will be leaving the motel through the back window of her room wearing her brunette wig and a dress, now dyed dark green. _Suckers,_ she thought to herself and grinned.

Stan walked back over to Chuck's car. "I could only leave a message with his office. I'll stick around with you until Mr. Drake gets back to us. Why don't we move our surveillance post over towards the other side of the motel – out of the cops' way? I'll drive over that way. Just follow me."

**DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

Paul lit a cigarette and told Tragg that he was willing to share some information with him. "I've got a man tailing Diane Keller right now. He followed her from Bakersfield to LA. After a few stops, she checked into a motel on La Brea."

"I'm well aware of that Drake. That's why I sent a patrol car over to that motel to tell your man to move out of the way. I've got a detective on his way over there within the hour to pick her up on an arrest warrant."

"They're on a public street! My men have every right to be there..." Paul stood up and threw his chest out towards Tragg.

Not to be intimidated by Paul's height, Tragg stood closer to Paul pointing his finger into his chest. "Not when it interferes with a Police investigation!"

"Look, Lieutenant, my men are _not_ interfering! If nothing else, they're _helping_ in a Police investigation..." Paul's voice was getting louder.

Tragg shouted back at Paul. "Don't go there, Drake! I warned you earlier..."

Della'd had enough of the bickering. "Stop it _now_ you two!" Paul and Tragg looked startled and backed away from each other.

"I thought that we were all on the same side here. Right now Perry Mason is down the hall recovering from an operation that was necessary to not only save his life, but hopefully his vision! There's someone out there responsible for _his_ attack and possibly someone else's murder. Now instead of arguing about who's got more information, why don't we calmly sit down and compare notes so we're all on the same page here?"

Dumbfounded by Della's compassionate lecture, Paul and Tragg sat down and turned their full attention to Della. She brought out her notepad.

"Let's have it, Paul. What did your man find out about Diane Keller since we left Bakersfield this morning? From the beginning..."

"She was followed into LA to the County Hospital. She left there within a few minutes and went to a phone booth where she made several phone calls. From there, she was followed to the Brent Building where my man lost sight of her for a bit. When she came out, he followed her to the motel in Inglewood that she checked into. I sent another man over there to relieve my man from Bakersfield." Paul glared at Tragg. "And I hope both of my men are still there!"

Della looked up from her notepad. She was concerned that Diane had been in their office building. "And what can _you_ tell us, Lieutenant?"

Tragg calmed down but had sarcasm in his voice. "We've been trying to locate Diane Keller as a suspect in the attack on Perry since we found her fingerprints in the vacant house where he was ambushed. A BOLO went out to all units in LA late last night. Then this morning a woman matching Keller's description was at the information desk at County General looking for her _brother_ – a Mr. Perry Mason. The information clerk gave that information to the Policeman on duty at the hospital and he called me. So that's why I stopped in here earlier, Della. I thought she might try to find Perry here and I was going to pick her up. Since that time, we learned that she was in the Brent Building and left there to check into a motel on La Brea which is under surveillance by Drake's men."

Della finished writing her notes. "See? Now doesn't that help us understand where this investigation is going? What's going to happen next, men?"

Paul looked at his watch. The reason he was following Diane Keller was a whole new situation now. An alibi for Marshall Monroe when his wife Delores was murdered? And now suspected of ambushing his best friend? "Perry will still be in recovery for a while. I'm going to talk with my men at the motel and I'll be back here before Perry wakes up. Will you be okay here, Della?"

"I'll be fine, Paul."

Tragg stood to the side as Paul left the room. "This Policeman will remain with you and outside of Perry's room until I get back. Until we have Diane Keller in custody, which I hope will be shortly, he'll have Police protection."

Della thought it over. "If you think that's best, Lieutenant..."

**PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

"Hey – look at that!" Stan pointed out a woman walking behind the motel. "That's the bag that our target was carrying around this morning. That's gotta be her!"

Chuck brought the binoculars up to his eyes. "That dame ain't blonde."

"She probably put on a wig or something. Tell you what, I'll tail her in my car. You stay here and watch the front with them cops. Call in any action to Drake's office right away."

Stan got out of Chuck's car, got into his own, and drove towards the motel watching the woman board a city bus. He followed the bus traveling towards downtown Los Angeles.

Paul located Chuck near the motel in his car. "I heard that the cops gave you the boot. I'm glad you stayed around."

"Stan thinks that she dipped out the back of the place wearing a wig so we split up for him to follow her. He suggested that I wait around and report the cops' actions to you."

"There's a detective on the way with an arrest warrant. I think I'll go over and let those cops know what you saw."

Tragg drove up to the patrol car as Paul walked over. Within a moment, the detective arrived with the arrest warrant.

"I just found out from my man over there that a woman left the back of the motel about 15 minutes ago. It _might_ have been Diane Keller. She was wearing a dark wig, but carrying the same bag they saw her carrying earlier today. I still have a man tailing her."

Tragg frowned but gathered his men together right away. "Let's go see if she's in there."

Tragg got the motel manager to open the motel room door. They found a vacant room with the window to the back alley wide open. Paul smoked a cigarette while waiting outside of the motel room door for Tragg and his men to come out.

"It _was_ her in the alley, wasn't it?"

"I'm putting out an APB on your man, Drake. I hope he's still tailing her!" Tragg was frustrated. "Where are you going to be?"

"I'm going back to the hospital. I'll let my office know where to call me directly when my man checks in. I'll stay in touch, Lieutenant!"

**DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

Paul got back to the hospital and looked for Della in the waiting room. When he didn't find her there he went to the ICU. Della was seated outside the ICU with the Policeman nearby.

"Is he back in ICU?"

"Not yet, but any minute now. A nurse told me that he was starting to come around in the recovery room. Has Diane Keller been arrested yet?"

"Nope. She slipped out the back while the cops covered the front. But thankfully, Stan followed his hunch when he saw a woman walking behind the motel carrying the same large purse Diane Keller carried all morning. She's now a brunette instead of a blonde. I'm waiting to hear back from Stan. I've got Margo working overtime in the office to transfer any call from Stan to me here."

Della showed a slight smile. "Where would you and Perry be without good secretaries?"

A door opened at the end of the hallway and an orderly was pushing a bed while a nurse carrying an IV bottle walked alongside. Della stood up to see Perry in the bed with his eyes closed and his head wrapped in a large bandage.

The nurse looked to Della and Paul. "He's still a little groggy, but give us a few minutes to get him settled in the room and you can come in and see him."

Della smiled and nodded her thanks.

The Policeman walked over to Della and Paul. "That's Mr. Mason, right?"

"Yes it is."

"Okay. I'll make a call at the desk down the hall and then I'll be waiting by this door. I have strict orders – no visitors except for you and him."

Della and Paul were brought into the ICU after Perry was positioned comfortably in his bed. The nurse brought a chair next to the bed for Della.

"Dr. Parker will be in to see him soon. Mr. Mason is still pretty out of it. Can I get either of you anything? Another chair? A cup of coffee?"

Della looked to Paul who shook his head. "Oh, no thanks. I hope we're not in your way here."

"You're just fine. Go ahead and talk to him. He grunts and groans occasionally."

Della took Perry's free hand in hers. "You're out of surgery, Perry. Dr. Parker will be in to see you soon. Paul is here, too." Perry did not respond.

"I'm right here, Perry. Doc said the surgery went well." Paul couldn't think of anything else to say.

Della massaged Perry's hand. "Lieutenant Tragg is tracking the suspect who attacked you. Now we just need to get you healthy again."

There was no response from Perry but Della continued holding his hand and talking to him. A nasal cannula kept the flow of oxygen going into him. She looked at his head bandage a little closer. "You have quite the fashionable head piece on. I don't recommend that you wear that in court, so we better get you well."

Della felt Perry squeeze her hand. "I think he's coming around... Perry? Can you hear me?"

Perry groaned and tried to move his other hand. "Della?" His voice was weak.

"Yes, Perry. I'm here. Paul is here, too. How do you feel?"

Perry tried to speak again. "Della? What happened?"

Della made a quick glance up at Paul. "You had surgery. You're in the hospital."

Perry moved his hand to his head and touched the bandage. "My head hurts. I need an aspirin."

Della held onto both of his hands. "I'll ask the nurse what you can have."

Paul went to get the nurse.

"I want some water, Della." Perry opened his eyes.

"Paul will get the nurse. Can you see me, Perry?"

Perry squinted and stared straight ahead. "I have such a headache." Perry closed his eyes again and Della felt his hands go limp.

The nurse came over to Perry's bed. "I'll wait for Dr. Parker to see him before we give him anything to eat or drink. He must be out again, hmmm?"

Della moved her hand to Perry's arm and softly caressed it. "He was complaining of a headache and wanted water. He opened his eyes for a few seconds."

"Same reaction he had in the recovery room. It might be a while longer before he fully comes around."

It was nearly an hour before Dr. Parker came into the ICU. Perry was more coherent but wasn't comfortable opening his eyes.

"Mr. Mason? Dr. Parker here. There were no complications with your surgery. I need to do a quick examination now. Do you feel okay?"

"I'm thirsty. I have such a headache."

"We'll get you some water. Let me check your eyes and ears. I'm going to lift your bandage off of your ears a bit."

Dr. Parker bent down towards Perry and began his examination. He looked in Perry's ears with his penlight. "Your ears look good. Can you open your eyes for me?"

Perry opened his eyes and Dr. Parker brought out his penlight again. "I'm going to shine this light in your eyes. Can you see it?"

Perry squinted. "Can you make the light brighter? I think I see a light."

"Okay. I'm going to close your right eye. Tell me when you see the light in your left eye." Dr. Parker turned the light off and held it towards Perry's left eye. After a few seconds he turned the light on.

"I see a light now. It's not bright."

Della and Paul stood nearby watching the examination and Paul pulled Della closer to him giving her a thumbs up sign. Della was smiling.

Dr. Parker turned off the light. "Okay. I'm going to try the same thing on your right eye. I'll hold your left eye closed. Tell me when you see the light."

Dr. Parker had the light on for several seconds. "Mr. Mason? Are you with me? Tell me when you can see the light."

"Is it on? I don't see a light."

Dr. Parker stood back up. "Well we're making progress here, but your right eye is not responding as well as your left eye yet. You're doing better than I expected at this point. I'll get the nurse over here so you can get some water and something more for that head pain. That bandage on your head needs to stay in place overnight. It's on tight for a reason, so we'll get that changed in the morning. I'm going to keep that oxygen on you. I'll start you off with soft food to eat. Do you have any questions right now?"

Perry only asked if Della and Paul were still there.

"Your visitors are right here. And I'll leave you alone with them. I'll be back later tonight."

Della sat down next to Perry again and took his hand. "That's good news. You're making progress."

"I wish I could see you. But it's nice to touch you..."

A moment later the nurse came to the other side of Perry's bed and put her hand on his shoulder. "Mr. Mason, I'm going to add some pain medicine to your IV. I've ordered you some broth and jello." She adjusted a bedside tray. "Give me your hand. I'm going to leave a glass of water with a straw in it on this tray."

Perry's hand was guided to the water on the tray.

"Do you feel it?"

Perry got the water glass in his hand and brought the straw to his mouth.

"Great. You did that really well. Just slowly reach for it each time. I'll keep it filled for you."

After the nurse left, Della leaned forward towards Perry and gathered his hand in hers again. "Dr. Parker said that you'll get better little by little. I'll be with you all the way."

Paul was about to say something to Perry but stopped when Lt. Tragg came into the room. "Well if it isn't our favorite Lieutenant."

Tragg did not look happy but took the time to announce his presence to Perry.

"Mason? I hope you're recovering okay."

Perry answered back weakly. "I'm doing fine. What _really_ brings you here, Lieutenant?"

"I have two reasons to be here. First, of course, I want to make sure that your operation went well. And second, I'm going to need to borrow Mr. Drake from you for a bit." Tragg motioned for Paul to meet him outside of the room.

Paul glanced over to Della and shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever you need, Lieutenant. Why don't we step outside so we're not in the way of these pretty nurses?"

Perry knew that something was up. "Della, go find out what Tragg needs Paul for."

Della stayed put. "Paul's a big boy, Perry. I'm sure whatever it is, Paul will give us an update when they're finished talking. And besides, Counselor, you need to concentrate on getting well instead of worrying about what they're up to!"

Perry frowned. "Whatever you think."

Della felt bad for him because she knew how hard it was for him to not be right in the thick of things. "You just had major surgery. Your job right now is is recovering from that surgery. Paul will fill us in soon. Do you trust me?"

Perry squeezed her hand.

Once they were out in the hallway, Tragg got right to the point. "We found your man in an alley downtown, Paul - with two gunshot wounds in his belly. And before the ambulance hauled him away to Central Receiving, he told the Policeman that Diane Keller shot him and ran away!"

**TBC**

Happy Birthday, Barbara Hale! 18 April 1922


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Diane Keller didn't stay around in the downtown alley after she shot the man who was following her. She hopped onto the next bus that she saw and wasn't going to worry if the man lived or died. Even if the man was a cop, she'd just claim self-defense - if she gets caught. After all, a woman has a right to defend herself in a dark alley, doesn't she? She further thought that it would be her word against his about how she lured him into that area – if he lives. After transferring twice on downtown buses she finally caught the bus that would get her to within a block of her downtown apartment. This place was her "safe house" – the cozy apartment that she rented under the name that she should have had over a year ago – Diane _Monroe_. Back then, Marshall Monroe should have married _her_ instead of her sister Delores. In her mind, she _was_ married to him – it was just a shame that she had to kill him when he rejected her amorous advances again. She was glad that Phyllis Monroe was arrested for his murder. Marshall should have never married that rich bitch either. Now if she can get rid of that hot-shot attorney hired to defend Phyllis, she'd never be sent to prison.

Paul left Perry's ICU room after telling Perry and Della about the situation with Stan Grimes. He rode along with Tragg to LA County General Hospital hoping that Stan's gunshot wounds were not critical. Stan was still awake in the stabilization room while the emergency room doctors evaluated his injuries. Paul and Tragg were given a few moments with Stan to ask him more details about what happened.

"I didn't wanna lose track of her this time so when she ducked into that alley, I parked my car and tried to follow her on foot. She stopped in the middle of the alley and turned around to say something to me. I couldn't hear what she was saying so I walked closer – you know – pretending to look like I was just walking through the alley. So I says 'you talking to me, lady'? And then she says something real quiet again so I stopped about five feet away. That's when I saw the gun and heard the shots. I fell back and couldn't move. She just walked away."

Paul tried to comfort Stan. "Is there someone that I can call for you? The doc says that you're going to need surgery right away."

"Naw... I'll be alright. I just hope I can bill you for this trip to the hospital."

The doctor asked Paul and Tragg to wrap it up so they could prepare Stan for surgery. Tragg asked a few more questions before Stan was taken out of the room.

"So what are your plans now, Drake?"

"I'll catch a cab back to Perry's room until visiting hours are over. After I get Della back home, I guess I'll be back here to check on Stan."

"Let me know if you find out anything else."

**PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

Della stayed by Perry's side and he slept more than he was awake. He looked so content when he was sleeping. She wished that she could just crawl into the bed to cuddle up with him and hold him until he was well again. By 6pm the nurse brought him his dinner so she woke him up to eat.

"Mr. Mason? I'm going to adjust your bed so you can sit up and try to eat something."

Perry blinked his eyes and raised his arms over his head to stretch while he was shifted to a sitting position in the bed. "May I ask what I'll be eating?"

"We'll start you off with some beef broth. You also have applesauce and cherry jello. It's not a lot, but if you manage to tolerate that, we'll adjust your breakfast meal."

"I'll just pretend that the broth is a nice thick steak."

Della smiled, happy that Perry was showing an appetite and a sense of humor. "It won't be long and you'll be out of the hospital and you'll get that nice thick steak." She gently squeezed his hand.

The nurse was apologetic. "Hospital food has a bad reputation, but this is just a start. When your anesthesia is completely worn off, we'll adjust your meal plan. I'd love to see you get a steak dinner before you leave here. Now I'm going to set your food on the tray in front of you. I'm going to let you feed yourself. Think of your tray in front of you as a clock. Your broth is at the 6 o'clock position, your applesauce at 9 o'clock and your jello at 3 o'clock. Your spoon is on the right side of your tray, your napkin on the left. Slowly feel with your hands for what you want."

"I can smell the broth. Now I feel hungry." Perry felt around on the tray easily locating the napkin and spoon. Della watched attentively ready to help him if needed.

The nurse watched until Perry got the hang of it then returned to the nurse's station.

Perry spooned the broth into his mouth. "Have you had dinner yet, Della?"

"I'll have dinner when I get home. I'm not really hungry right now."

Perry stopped eating. "_Not_ hungry? Who are you really? Where is my girl Della? She's _always_ hungry!"

"I'm glad that you can still tease me."

Perry quickly finished the broth. "Now which delectable item did she say was at 3 o'clock and which was at 9 o'clock?"

"Jello at 3, applesauce at 9."

Perry felt his way to the applesauce bowl as Paul walked into the room.

"That looks appetizing! Is that the main course?"

Della answered Paul while Perry spooned applesauce into his mouth. "He must be feeling better already. He's hungry for a nice big steak. How's Stan?"

"He was stable in the emergency room. He's a tough son-of-a-gun. He's in surgery now. Took two rounds in the gut. I hope nothing vital was hit!"

"Was it really Diane Keller who shot him?"

"Yup. He followed her into an alley, she got him to walk closer to her, and shot him twice without warning."

Perry finished his applesauce and brought the napkin to his mouth. "Does she have a firearm registered to her?"

Della grumbled at Perry. "We've already checked that out, Mr. Mason. _You_ need to concentrate on your 3 o'clock jello and _we'll_ handle this investigation for now. I should ask that nurse to come back here and give you another sedative." She touched Perry's arm and gave it a soft squeeze.

Paul took over the conversation to spare Della any redirect from Perry. "I have a feeling that she came up with that gun in a round-about way. I'll check on that tomorrow."

Dr. Parker entered the ICU and came right to Perry's bed.

"Dr. Parker here, Mr. Mason. How's your dinner?"

"It's not steak, but it will do."

"How's the pain in your head?"

"I feel better when I'm sitting up."

"Let me go and look at your chart while you finish eating. Then I'll take another look at you."

After Dr. Parker's examination, he told Perry that his physical therapy would start right away the next day. It would involve getting in and out of bed and walking short distances with assistance. Until Perry's vision was restored, he would have to learn to adjust to daily living activities without it.

Perry was feeling sleepy before visiting hours were over so Della and Paul decided to let him rest. Paul left to flirt with the nurse before waiting for Della in the hallway. Della squeezed Perry's hand to tell him that they were going to leave.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Perry. The nurse suggested that I come back tomorrow afternoon to watch your physical therapy so I'll know how to help you when you get out of the hospital. Do you need anything before I go?"

Perry spoke softly. "I _do_ need something."

Della was standing by his bed. "What do you need?"

"I need to feel your soft lips on mine before you go." Perry reached out for her with both of his hands.

Della's heart skipped a beat and she smiled. She quickly looked over to the nurse's station to see if the nurse was watching. When she saw that the nurse's back was turned, Della leaned over Perry, brought his hands up to her face, and bent down to kiss him good-night.

**DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

Paul and Della agreed to meet in Perry's office by 9 o'clock the next morning to compare all of their investigative findings.

Just before 9 o'clock, Della answered the rhythmic knock at the back door for Paul to walk in. "Good morning, Beautiful."

"Hello, Paul. How is Stan? I hope you got some rest last night."

"Stan will be okay. He'll probably be in the hospital for at least a week, though. I left the hospital around 2 o'clock this morning so I got plenty of rest."

"Lt. Tragg told me that he'll be here by 10 o'clock. That gives us at least an hour to go over our notes." Della poured Paul a cup of coffee as they sat down at the conference table.

Paul pulled out his notebook. "My visit to Iverson Oil was interesting. The front office people really liked Marshall Monroe, but talking with the support staff, he was not a favorite at all."

"Are you saying that some of the support staff wanted to see him dead?"

Before Paul could answer, they heard loud pounding at the front door.

"Is Gertie working today?" Paul started towards the front door.

"No. I gave her the day off."

Their concerns were relieved when they heard Lt. Tragg calling for them to open the door.

Della let him in and locked the front door behind him again.

"You're early, Lieutenant. Can I get you some coffee?" Della directed Paul and Tragg to sit down at the conference table in Perry's office.

"Coffee would be great, Della. Especially yours! And I just knew you two would be trying to stay ahead of me and meet early – something your boss would do!"

Della raised an eyebrow towards Tragg but smiled. "We learned from the best, Lieutenant."

"So what important information do you have that you didn't want me in on?" Tragg looked right at Paul.

Paul lit a cigarette and took out his notebook again. "You're not gonna like some of the stuff I found out because it pertains to your 'Open-Unsolved' case about Delores Monroe's murder."

Tragg sipped his coffee and put the cup back on the saucer. "Try me..."

"For starters, Marshall Monroe wanted to annul his marriage to Delores after just five months. He'd just been hired at Iverson Oil when he married Delores. His marriage hit the rocks when he got a look at George Iverson's daughter, Phyllis. He found out from an attorney in their Legal Department that he didn't meet the criteria for an annulment so he'd have to file for divorce. Apparently his wife Delores was going to fight the divorce."

"We researched that theory, Drake. How can you be so sure that he filed for divorce? We didn't find any record of that."

"We asked the right people the right questions." Paul sifted through the file that Della placed on the table and showed Tragg a photostat of a divorce petition filed in Marshall Monroe's name.

"This is just the petition for divorce. It doesn't say that Delores was served a summons."

"True. But it shows another motive in your _Open-Unsolved_."

Tragg studied the photostat and drank his coffee. Della wanted more information on the case against Diane Keller for assaulting Perry.

"Is the arrest warrant for Diane Keller based on a formal Complaint from the District Attorney's Office? I'd like to know more about what the Police Department is doing to get her in custody. As soon as that happens we can release the Police protection on Perry and get back to business here in this office. We've given Gertie the day off again and our day-to-day operations are suffering until Diane Keller is in jail. And I hope that Mr. Burger's office will set bail so high that they'll keep her until the court case proceeds."

"Our boys are working the case 'round the clock, Della. We consider her armed and dangerous for the attacks on Perry and Mr. Grimes. I'm sure Burger will try to hold onto her without bail – that is until some shyster defense attorney gets a hold of the case..."

Della, Paul and Tragg finished mulling over their notes and Tragg left so Della could get back to her office work. Paul stayed around after Tragg left the office.

"I don't know about you, but I didn't give him all of my information. As a matter of fact, if you're going to be alright here, I'll be heading down to Acapulco this afternoon. I've got another hunch to follow-up on down there."

**PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

Diane Keller woke up late in her downtown apartment. She reached over in the bed looking for Marshall, but then remembered that he was dead – never to spend the night with her again. She needed to try and control her idiosyncratic beliefs that she and Marshall Monroe were married. The events of the past ten days ran through her mind. A murder, newspaper headlines about the arrest of an heiress, and a prominent attorney known for clearing his clients taking the criminal case. She'd had to adjust her plans since that announcement. Luring that hot-shot attorney to one of her many hideouts in an attempt to kill him was a brilliant plan. It's just too bad that it didn't work out like she'd planned. If they ever find out the truth they could lock her up again... Put her behind locked doors or steel bars... She can't let them find her... She opened her bedroom window to let in the fresh late morning air. Fresh air always made her feel better and when she felt good, she'd come up with the best plans to stay free from those locked doors and steel bars.

**DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

The ICU nurse phoned Della just before noon to let Della know that Perry had been transferred to a private room on another floor. The nurse also let her know that the Policeman was still with Perry. His physical therapy would start at 2 o'clock.

Della finished her office work and made it to the hospital at 1:45. The Policeman was posted outside of Perry's room and Della handed him some cookies that she bought in the cafeteria on the way up to the room.

"You must be bored. I brought you some cookies in case you're hungry." The Policeman thanked her saying that the cookies would be a great snack with his coffee that the nurses kept him supplied with.

She found Perry in his room sound asleep. He was no longer hooked up to oxygen or the IV and his head bandage was smaller. His empty lunch tray was off to the side of his bed. By the time she sat down next to Perry's bed, he began to stir.

"Della?"

She touched his shoulder. "Yes, Perry. I'm here. How do you feel?"

Perry reached out towards her with his hand and Della grabbed onto it. "I feel better now that you're here... Your perfume gets to me every time."

Della smiled. His sense of smell was still working just fine. She'd barely used any fragrance today. "Has Dr. Parker been in to see you yet today?"

"Yes... He was here after breakfast. I still can't see, Della." Perry frowned and closed his eyes.

Della brought Perry's hand to her lips for a soft kiss. "You'll see again. It just takes time. You only had surgery about 24 hours ago. Be patient, Perry."

"Where's Paul? I've been thinking..."

"Paul's in Acapulco. He's checking out information that he came across yesterday. Why don't you just concentrate on resting and getting better? We've compared notes with Lt. Tragg – well, not _all_ of our notes – and we've made progress. Paul's been covering a lot of ground. When you feel better we can all talk about it before we need to be in court."

Perry removed his hand from Della's grasp and brought his hands together over his head on his pillow. "Phyllis Monroe is innocent. I don't feel like I'm doing enough for her..."

"Well your _team_ is doing all that we can. You _do_ remember saying that Paul, you and I make a good team, don't you?"

Perry let out a heavy sigh. "You're right, baby. We make a _great_ team."

Perry's physical therapy began right on time with Jackie, his therapist. While Della looked on, Perry first learned how to put on his robe, find his slippers, and get in and out of his bed.

"Now that you're up, Mr. Mason, I'll help you take a few steps around the room. I want you to take a hold of my left arm."

Perry reached out and felt for Jackie's arm.

"That's good, Mr. Mason. Now clasp your hand on my arm just above my elbow... That's good. Now I'm going to lead you ahead and away from your bed. After a few steps, we're going to turn around and walk back. I'll be a half of a step ahead of you so just hold on and walk slowly with me. Are you ready?"

Perry nodded and they took five slow steps across the room. He hesitated a bit on the turn, but took smooth steps to walk back towards the bed.

"You're doing fine, Mr. Mason. Now with your free hand, feel behind you for the bed and sit down again. Then we'll start all over and walk across the room again."

Perry repeated the exercise several times and then Jackie asked Della to be Perry's assistant.

"Are you sure that I'm ready to help him? It's a lot easier to watch you do it..."

Perry spoke up right away. "We just talked about what a great team we are, Della. Now get over here and help your teammate walk around the room."

Jackie stood by and watched them perform the exercise several times. She smiled watching them walk back and forth. Such a cute couple, she thought. "You're doing a great job, Mr. Mason. And you, too Miss Street. But let's take a break for today now. I don't want you to get too worn out on your first day."

Della got Perry back to the bed and he sat down. Della helped him take off his robe and slippers so Perry could lay down again.

Jackie brought the sheet up to cover Perry. "How do you feel, Mr. Mason?"

"I feel good. But I'm glad we stopped when we did. I'm pretty tired."

"I want you to drink some water now. How does your head feel? Are you light-headed or dizzy at all?"

"I'm a little light-headed. I think this water will help." Perry managed to locate a glass of water on the tray near his bed.

Jackie put a hand on his shoulder. "Well lay back and get some rest. I'll be back tomorrow and we'll try this again. Maybe we'll walk in the hallway so we can learn how to avoid obstacles."

For the rest of the afternoon two different nurses came by to check his vitals and Perry dozed off a few times. Della remained at his side. At shift change Dr. Parker came in for his late afternoon exam.

"How do you feel since your therapy?"

"I felt a little light-headed when we were finished. But I feel okay now."

"Let's take a look at you and see if you have any improvement in your vision."

There were no changes to Perry's vision. Dr. Parker suggested that he continue to rest and drink his water. Perry was allowed to have a roast beef sandwich for dinner with Dr. Parker's approval.

After Perry finished his dinner, the evening nurse stopped by to take his vitals again. Della got ready to leave by 7pm.

Della took Perry's hand. "Rest well, Perry. I'll be back tomorrow. Do you need me to bring you anything?"

"I only need a kiss good-night."

Della leaned over to kiss Perry good-night. "I love you, Perry."

"I love you, too, baby."

**PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

Diane Keller left her apartment the next morning for her errands - first to the hardware store, and finally a gun shop. She used her red-haired wig for this trip still feeling paranoid about being followed by men – those men wanting to put her in a padded cell again. She got attention immediately from the gun store manager.

"Can I help you miss?"

Diane still had not removed her sunglasses even though the store was dimly lit. "I'm browsing for now, but before I leave, I'll need a one pound can of your Ramshot gun powder."

The manager looked surprised. Diane read the look on his face.

Lying through her teeth, Diane gave a quick reply. "My father and I do our own reloads – you know – for the gun club that we belong to."

The manager nodded. "Oh, yes... I see. I'm just not used to seeing a woman stocking up on gun powder..."

Diane looked over a few of the firearms displayed under the glass counter-top by the cash register. There was an assortment of revolvers and semi-autos in calibers ranging from a wimpy .22 to a .45 knock-'em-down-dead caliber. Some day, if she needed more firepower, she'd be back.

The manager placed the gun powder on the counter. "Can I get you anything else? Powder measures? Primers? Wads?"

"No, thank you. I'm – eh, _we're_ fully stocked on reload accessories." Diane paid the manager and left the store.

She brought her purchases back to her downtown apartment and laid the items out on her kitchen table. Satisfied that she had all the makings of a bomb, she put the materials in a small box and stored it in a closet.

**DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

When Della arrived for Perry's afternoon physical therapy session, she arrived early again to supply the Policeman at the door with cupcakes.

"You haven't had this duty before. I'm Della Street, Mr. Mason's secretary."

The Policeman double-checked the names on his authorized visitors list and smiled at Della. "Of course, Miss Street. It's not hard to figure out that you can be here when there are only two names on the list. The man that I relieved didn't mention how beautiful you are!"

Della blushed and brought the small box of cupcakes up between them. "You're very flattering. Here's a little something to control your hunger out here. And thank you for being here."

Della walked into Perry's room and thought he was sleeping. She quietly made her way around the room and brought a small radio out of her bag to set it up on a nightstand by the bed. She was bending over near the wall to plug the radio into an electric outlet when Perry reached over to her and pulled her onto the bed.

She let out a scream which was quickly stifled by Perry. She giggled. "Perry Mason! You know better than to scare me like that!"

"I couldn't resist. What are you doing on this side of my bed anyway?"

Della slipped off of the bed and stood up adjusting her skirt back into place. "I brought you a radio. Since you can't read a book or magazine right now, I thought you'd enjoy listening to music or the news..."

"Thank you, Miss Street. You're always thinking of me..."

"Of course I am. How do you feel today?"

"Rested. I slept a lot last night. I don't feel light-headed like I did yesterday. I still have a headache though."

Della grabbed his hands and leaned down to kiss him. "My poor baby..." She tried to stand up straight and Perry reached up to her face and gently pulled her back down and found her lips with his again.

"I miss you, Della."

She returned his kiss while her heart beat faster. "I wish I could be here for you more."

Perry loosened his grip. "I hope I get out of here soon..."

"You will... You just need to rest and heal. It won't be long..."

The physical therapy session went well and after Jackie left, Perry sat up in his bed. "Turn on the radio, Della."

"Do you want a news station or music?"

"Music."

Della tuned in their favorite radio station and returned to the other side of Perry's bed. Perry got out of the bed and stood up beside her. While Kate Smith sang "_I'll Be Seeing You"_, he took Della into his arms and they swayed to the music while Perry sang the refrain with his soft baritone voice.

"...I'll find you in the morning sun, and when the night is new, I'll be looking at the moon, but I'll be seeing you..."

**PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

Paul returned from Acapulco with more interesting information and on the morning of the 29th of May he met with Perry and Della in Perry's hospital room.

"Well I finally got confirmation from the _Federales_ down in Mexico City. When the Iverson's attempted to return to LA from Acapulco on their new yacht last July, it was a _bomb_ that caused it to blow up. They originally thought that it was an explosion from a kitchen appliance, but they found evidence of the bomb when I asked them to re-evaluate the scant evidence they had collected. But get this – I don't know if this helps your case against Phyllis Monroe or not... Marshall Monroe and his wife Delores were supposed to be on that boat with George and Mary Iverson. Phyllis was supposed to be on board also, but opted to fly back at the last minute. Apparently Phyllis does not like boats. Hearing that Phyllis wasn't sailing back to LA, Marshall and Delores suddenly also decided not to go back on the yacht. The next day, off the coast near Acapulco – _boom_! The Iverson's are dead and Phyllis is first in line to take over Iverson Oil..."

Della was sitting in the chair next to Perry's bed feverishly taking notes on her notepad. She looked up from her notes. "You can't possibly think that Phyllis had anything to do with blowing up her parents' yacht?"

"If this information ends up in Burger's hands, it won't look good for Phyllis."

Perry raised his hands over his head and stretched. "Della, what were you saying the other day about the news articles that you dug out of the gossip columns?"

"It wasn't the gossip columns, it was just a society pages article on an engagement announcement for Marshall Monroe and Diane Keller from January 1949."

Perry spoke up again. "Paul, how hard would it be for you to dig up travel records for Diane Keller for travel to Mexico from January to July of last year?"

"I see what you're getting at, Perry. I'll get on it right away."

By the 31st of May, Perry had been released from the hospital with only slight improvement in the sight of his left eye and no improvement at all in his right eye. Dr. Parker signed the release papers with the stipulation that Perry have someone with him at all times and that he return for follow-up care. Paul and Della immediately volunteered to take care of him. Della would take the daytime hours and Paul the overnight hours until they could arrange for a qualified nursing assistant to help out. Perry convinced Tragg that he no longer needed the Police protection since his apartment and office would be locked up tight while Diane Keller was still on the loose.

On Thursday the 1st of June, Perry insisted that Paul bring him into the office. Della was already in the office when Paul walked Perry in the back door. Perry was dressed in a sport coat and casual slacks without a tie. The small bandage on his head was the only sign of his head injury. Paul got Perry to a chair at the conference table where Della set out coffee cups and pastries.

"Good morning, boys." She touched Perry on his shoulder. "Coffee is on your right, napkin is on your left and pastries are at 6 o'clock on your plate."

"And my lovely secretary is at my 3 o'clock because that's where her lovely scent is coming from." He reached up to squeeze her hand on his shoulder.

Della just smiled while Paul rolled his eyes at the lovebirds. She tossed the morning newspaper onto the table near Paul. "You're not going to like the Chronicle's gossip column in this morning's paper."

Paul took the paper off of the table and read the gossip page out loud starting with the headline and reading bits of the article. "Prominent attorney blinded in brutal attack is released from the hospital – the search is on for a nursing assistant to help with day-to-day activities... Blah blah blah..." Then he read the real clincher. "With this attorney blind as a bat, who will take over the defense in the murder case against his wealthy client?" Paul folded the paper and slammed it back down on the table. "What in the hell is that? How did that information get out?"

Perry shook his head and reached around for his coffee cup. "Damn! We didn't need that information to get out. Is Gertie here today?"

Della answered right away. "No. As far as I'm concerned, this office is closed except in case of emergency. The main phone line will go right to your answering service and we can screen calls through that. And I'll answer your private line only. We're the only ones that knew we'd be meeting here today."

Perry sighed. "Well it was bound to get out eventually. As much as I trusted the hospital staff and Police guards, people will talk. We can't run a law office hiding behind locked doors all the time..." He paused and then with a sharp inhale, he continued. "Della, ask Gertie to come back to work tomorrow. As for that gossip column, get a hold of the columnist and inform them that the Ajax Employment Agency will be screening applicants for any nursing assistant positions. And it's none of their business who will be defending Phyllis Monroe."

"Right, Chief. It's nice to have you back here running the show – even if it's only going to be for a few hours today! Let's get this mail done so I can get you out of here!"

**DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

Diane Keller was delighted to read the morning paper and see the interesting gossip news about Perry Mason. She danced around her downtown apartment giggling to herself about how easy it will be to get into his office and finish him off for good. There will be no steel bars or locked doors for her when he's dead. She merrily gathered her materials to make a bomb and made her plans to get into the great Perry Mason's office the first thing on Friday morning.

It was back to business as usual in Suite 904 in the Brent Building Friday morning. Paul brought Perry in the back door again and Della was at Perry's side escorting him between the conference table and his desk. Paul left for his office. Gertie was at her desk in the front office when a former client walked in.

"Good morning, Gertie! Remember me?"

"Of course, Mr. Lawton! How have you been?"

"I've been just great! I wonder if I can see Mr. Mason?"

Gertie called Della on the intercom right away and Della walked out to the front office.

"Hello Mr. Lawton! What brings you in here this morning?"

"Miss Street! It's good to see you! I have some good news for you and Mr. Mason! Is he in? I'd like to see him for a minute if he's not busy."

"Of course Mr. Lawton. He'll be glad to meet with you." Della began walking back towards Perry's office. She stopped by her desk along the way. "Uh – you _do_ know that he's been in the hospital recently _don't_ you?"

Jerry Lawton turned to face Della. "No, I didn't know. Is he okay?"

"Sort of. He was assaulted. He lost his eyesight as a result of the injury..."

"His eyesight? He can't see? Who did this to him? I'll bust him up if I catch him..."

"Relax, Mr. Lawton. We know who's responsible. Why don't we go in and talk to him? He'll be glad to hear your voice anyway."

Della walked Jerry into Perry's office. "Perry, Jerry Lawton is here to see you."

Perry moved slow and stood up at the conference table turning towards their voices.

"Jerry! How are you? I hope that the job at the Veteran's Administration is working out for you." Perry held out his hand to greet Jerry.

Jerry walked over and shook Perry's hand. "It sure is, Mr. Mason! But what in the hell happened to you? Della told me that someone assaulted you..."

"Yes. And now I have a temporary condition. But enough about me, what brings you in here today?"

"I have good news. Me and my girl Sandra are getting married later this summer. I thought I'd ask you and Miss Street here to stand up for us."

"Well congratulations! Sandra's a nice lady. Miss Street and I would be honored to be at your wedding for you... Won't we, Della?"

Della moved over towards Perry's side. "Absolutely. We'd love to be there for you."

"Great! I couldn't think of anyone better for the occasion. After all, what are old Navy buddies for? But seriously, Mr. Mason. I owe you so much for that court trial and all. Can I help you out right now? I mean, I can do errands for you.. I can drive you to the doctor... Whatever you need, I can help."

"You don't owe me anything, Jerry. I was glad to help."

Gertie walked into the office. "Sorry to disturb you. Della, there's a woman in my office saying that she's here to apply for the nursing assistant job for Mr. Mason. She was sent here by the employment agency. I thought maybe you'd like to talk with her."

Out in the front office Diane Keller looked around at the layout of the office. She glanced into the next office and saw the desk unoccupied. She quickly walked into that office and placed the box from her big purse behind a large potted plant and ran back out the front door.

Della got Perry seated at the conference table and moved a chair over for Jerry to sit down in. "That's odd. Ajax told me that they wouldn't be sending any applicants over here."

Jerry interrupted. "You need a nursing assistant? For you, Mr. Mason? What are the duties of a nursing assistant?"

Della crossed her arms and brought her hand up under her chin. "We were actually looking for someone to help Perry overnight in his apartment. Paul Drake is doing that now, but only until we find someone else."

Jerry stood up right away. "Then I'm your man! I could do that for you Mr. Mason! I mean, after I get off work at the Veteran's Administration. Let me help you out, buddy!"

Gertie broke into the conversation while Perry thought about the offer. "What should I tell the woman out front?"

Della walked towards the front office. "Let's send her back to Ajax. I don't want applicants here when we'll be busy with other things."

Gertie and Della got into the front office. There was no one waiting there. "I wonder where she went?" Gertie looked out in the hallway.

"Did she leave her name or number? We can call her later and refer her back to Ajax."

Gertie walked around to the other side of her desk. "Here's her name." She handed Della the note.

Della read the name on the note. "_Deeann Rellek_... Hmmm. She didn't leave a number." She handed the note back to Gertie. "If she returns, just refer her to Ajax."

Della returned to Perry's office. "She left before we got out there. Gertie will refer her to Ajax if she comes back."

"Della, let's cancel the job notice. I found someone to help – my old Navy buddy Jerry here will be a nice fit!"

After Jerry Lawton left the office, Della and Perry dug into a backlog of office work. While Della read the correspondence to Perry, he gave verbal replies to Della and she took notes. After an hour they sat back to relax. Della thought back to the visitor in the office looking to apply for the nursing assistant job.

"Something about that woman coming here for the job notice still bothers me."

"Well we won't need anyone now that Jerry wants to help out. He'll be a good fit. I trust him completely."

Della was still thinking about the woman. "Now I know what it is... It was her name! I'll be right back. I'm going to Gertie's office."

Della found the note on Gertie's desk and rushed it back to Perry's office. "Perry... She was here! I think Diane Keller was here!"

"How do you know that?"

"Gertie wrote down the name that she gave her – '_Deeann Rellek_'!" Della spelled it out for Perry. "The last name spells 'Keller' backwards!"

"Obviously an alias! Where's Paul?"

"He was going to be in his office most of the day. I'll give him a call."

Before Della could pick up the phone, Gertie called her on the intercom.

"Della, there's a call on line one for you. The caller won't give me a name."

"Thanks, Gertie. Will you do me a favor and call Paul Drake please? Perry wants him here right away."

Della walked over to get her notepad on Perry's desk and then picked up line one. "This is Miss Street. May I help you?"

The woman's voice on the phone was calm but gave a very clear, stern warning. "In 30 seconds a bomb will go off in your Law office. And this is not a joke! 30 seconds!"

Della heard the line disconnect and she tapped on the receiver cradle to clear the line. "Hello? Hello?" She quickly hung up the phone.

"Oh my God, Perry! That was a bomb threat! We've got to get out of here! _Now_!" Della shouted for Gertie. "Gertie! Get out of the office! Now! That was a bomb threat!"

Della quickly went to Perry's side. "Grab on. We have to get out of here. She said we have 30 seconds!"

Paul was walking in the back door. "Hiya Della. Perry..."

Della shouted at him right away. "Paul – get Perry out of here! We just had a bomb threat. We have less than 30 seconds to get out! I'll run out the front with Gertie."

Paul grabbed onto Perry and they hurried to the back door. Della ran for the front door to make sure Gertie heard her.

Perry protested to Paul. "Let me be. I'll get out! Go make sure the girls get out!"

"There's not enough time. Della will get out." Paul guided Perry out the back door.

**TBC**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

The LAPD Bomb Squad finished their final sweep of Perry's law offices and were certain that no secondary explosive devices would be found. Paul walked out of the offices with the Bomb Squad Lieutenant.

"The main device certainly looked like an amateur put it together, Lieutenant. The amount of gun powder and the shrapnel would have done a lot of damage, but the faulty trigger mechanism appears to be the key reason that it didn't explode."

"Right, Paul. It's very unusual to use a mouse trap as a trigger mechanism when there are so many new methods out there. Whoever placed the device knew a little about bombs, but thankfully they weren't so thorough when setting it up to go off!"

"How long before the whole building is considered safe?"

"I'll be checking with my men right now. Last I heard, they'd cleared everything except the offices on the second floor. Let's go find them so I can give you the okay to let everyone back into the building. Oh, and I appreciate your expertise on this incident. If you ever want a job with the bomb squad, let me know!"

Paul put his hand on the Lieutenant's shoulder as they walked towards the elevator. "Thanks but no thanks, Lieutenant! See this gray and white hair? That indicates that I'm finished with the ordnance disposal business – for good! I did more than my share of bomb duties in the War!"

When the building was declared safe, Paul returned to his office and called Perry and Della at Perry's apartment. Della answered the phone.

"Paul? Is everything okay?"

"We just got an all clear for the Brent Building. I locked up your office. What sort of a plan does the boss have now?"

"Wait a minute Paul. Let me get Perry on the phone."

Della moved the phone over to Perry who was laying on his sofa. "What do you know, Paul?"

"I know we're lucky that the trigger mechanism was faulty. It was the only explosive we found in the building. Your office was definitely the target."

"I'm beat, Paul. I don't think I'll go back to the office. When will you be finished there?"

"As far as I'm concerned, my office is closed for the weekend."

"Do your favorite client a favor and bring me the Monroe file from my office. I want to go over a few things with you and Della before we call it a day."

**PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

The dining room table in Diane Keller's downtown apartment had place settings for two. Diane was busy in her kitchen tending to her roast chicken in the oven. Humming a song to herself, she sprinkled more salt and pepper on the poultry and closed the oven door. Diane checked the potatoes cooking on the stove and then made another check of the dinner table. She thought everything looked perfect. The candles will add a relaxed ambience and the bottle of chardonnay will be tasty with the meal. Looking over at the bar she double-checked the martini ingredients. As soon as Marshall walks in the door from his hard day at work, she'll fix him a martini and sit him down in his favorite chair. Then he'll relax with a drink while reading the evening paper. That's when a moment of panic set in. The evening paper! She forgot to bring a copy of the evening paper! Glancing at the kitchen clock, she found that she'll have just enough time to run down to the corner and pick up an evening paper before Marshall gets home. She turned off the food cooking on the stove and ran out the door.

She quickly found a newspaper at the corner newsstand. Casually reading the news headlines walking back to her apartment building, something snapped in her mind. Panic set in once again. Had she been delusional again? What would she find up in her apartment? Now back to reality in her mind, looking at the newspaper she should be reading about a huge explosion in the Brent Building downtown. Surely an explosion in the morning would make headlines in the evening paper! When she walked back into the lobby of her apartment building muttering to herself, Diane passed by the manager's office and he saw her walking by.

"Mrs. Monroe?"

Diane kept walking towards the elevator oblivious to the manager calling out. She could only think of one thing: that bomb should have gone off. Why didn't that bomb go off?

"Mrs. Monroe? Hold on a minute!" The manager caught up to her at the elevator door.

"Mrs. Monroe, you're overdue for this month's rent. I haven't seen your husband around at all. Maybe _you_ can write me a check?"

Diane stopped and slowly turned to face the manager. "Rent? My husband?"

"Yes... Rent... It was due yesterday. Do you have the money or not?"

Diane's head was spinning. Those crazy thoughts crept back into her head for a moment. Didn't the manager know that her husband was dead? What could he possibly be talking about? She looked down at her left hand and saw the wedding ring on her finger. She covered it with her right hand hoping that the manager wouldn't notice it.

"I'm... uh... really in a hurry right now. If you'll excuse me, I'll bring the rent money down tomorrow. I promise."

The manager let her get in the elevator hoping that she'd be paying the rent in the morning. He shook his head as he walked back to his office. He always thought that she was some sort of a kook. Once again he wondered if she really had a husband. Nobody's ever seen him. He closed the door to his office and looked at her rental file contemplating legal action to kick her out. He read the names on the rental application. "Marshall Monroe – principal resident. Diane Monroe – wife. Employment: Iverson Oil Company – Vice President of Operations and Exploration." He tossed the file back on the desk and wondered why some big-shot vice president of an oil company would be living in such a modest apartment building. After a call to Iverson Oil headquarters, within ten minutes his initial curiosity was satisfied. Marshall Monroe, Vice President at Iverson Oil, was dead – a murder victim from about two weeks ago. Now he wanted even more information. With his feet up on his desk, he got out an opener and popped the top on a bottle of beer to research his options. He wondered if perhaps the LAPD Homicide Division would have information on this dame. She didn't act like a widow. Maybe someone out there wants _his_ information – for a reward. He took out his phone book to find a phone number for Homicide.

Diane reached her apartment and once inside with the door closed, she stood with her back against the door, her chest heaving, nearly out of breath. She looked around the apartment. A dinner table set for two? The smell of roasted chicken? She really _did_ have another delusional episode! She walked into the kitchen. Cooked potatoes on the stove? She walked into the bedroom and saw a picture on the nightstand. It was the love of her life Marshall Monroe posing in a tuxedo with a jagged-edged photograph of herself pasted over the bridal image of her sister Delores. Glancing down at her left hand again, she saw the wedding ring. She pulled it off in a fit of rage and threw it across the room. Diane brought a suitcase up from under her bed and packed away some clothes. Putting on her brunette wig, she climbed out of the bedroom window onto the fire escape. With the luggage in her hand, she got down the fire escape and walked down the alley away from the building. It won't be very long before those men will be following her again. She just _had_ to stay away from those locked doors and steel bars.

**DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

On Saturday morning the defense team for Phyllis Monroe met in Perry's apartment for breakfast. Della walked in the door with fresh warm carmel rolls from Perry's favorite bakery down the street. The aroma of fried bacon wafted throughout the apartment. She found Perry and Paul in the kitchen where Paul was making scrambled eggs. "Good morning, gentlemen! I brought some treats."

Perry was seated on a stool at the kitchen counter giving Paul cooking advice. He only nodded in the direction of Della's voice to acknowledge her presence. "Don't whip the eggs too much. Did you add a little cream? I hope the pan isn't too hot. It should be medium to low heat. Did the butter melt in the frying pan yet? After you pour in the eggs, use chop sticks to stir the mixture from the edge of the pan to the middle. I _always_ use chop sticks..."

Della placed the box of rolls on the kitchen counter and grinned at Paul. He moved away from Perry and gave Perry a karate chop gesture behind his back.

"Perry, I _know_ how to make scrambled eggs! It's all under control. I thought that you were going to attempt to make toast."

Della walked over to Perry's side and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Are you boys fighting again? How do you feel today, Perry?"

Perry sounded angry. "I feel hungry for fluffy moist scrambled eggs. I endured too many rubbery or dry servings of scrambled eggs in the hospital. In my own home, I'd appreciate decent scrambled eggs!"

Della rubbed Perry's shoulder with her one hand and ate a strip of bacon off of the plate on the counter with her other hand. "Why don't you come over and sit down at the table with a cup of coffee and a fresh carmel roll? I can see that Paul's doing a wonderful job with the eggs."

"When Jerry Lawton becomes my house guest tonight I think that I'll start eating better at home. Jerry won't burn toast or pancakes... And I'm told that he makes the best beef stew!"

Paul remained silent - slowly stirring the eggs in the frying pan.

"Come along with me little boy. Stop being mean to other boys on the playground." Della cheerfully walked Perry over to the dining room table and he jerked his arm away from her grip to seat himself. She ignored his angry behavior and went on to explain the position of the tableware and food in front of him. "Napkin on your left, coffee on your right..."

Perry cut her off sharply. "I know! I know! And a carmel roll at 6 o'clock, my fork will be on my left next to the napkin, the knife on my right with a spoon next to that! I'm not a child, Della!"

She looked over to Paul and he just shook his head. Silently, Della walked back to the kitchen counter with a look of concern on her face and poured herself a cup of coffee. Perry hung his head down and reached out around the area where Della had been standing before his outburst. Not finding her, he put his elbows on the table, put his head in his hands, and rubbed his forehead. Paul and Della watched from the kitchen counter.

After watching Perry's meltdown for a moment, Della returned to the table and sat down next to him placing her hand on his shoulder. "Are you finished with your pity party?"

"I'm sorry, baby." Perry continued to rub his forehead and face. "And I'm sorry Paul... You two, of all people, don't deserve this from me..."

Della leaned over and moved her arm around his shoulder and kissed his cheek again. "It's all right, Perry. You're frustrated and rightly so."

"It doesn't give me the right to lash out at either of you. I'm so sorry... On Monday morning we start Phyllis Monroe's hearing. I have a lot of work to do between now and then."

"Correction, Counselor, _we_ have work to do. And we'll get it done somehow. We always do!"

Paul announced that the eggs were ready and brought the finished product over on a platter with the bacon. He scooped a large spoonful onto Perry's plate. "Eggs at 3 o'clock, bacon at 9 o'clock."

Before he even put a fork full of eggs into his mouth Perry smiled and remarked on the taste of the eggs. "These are the best scrambled eggs I've eaten – _today_!" At that point, they all laughed and ate breakfast.

**PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

Lt. Tragg and his men entered Diane Keller's downtown hideout when the building manager unlocked the door for them bright and early Saturday morning. Tragg gave a warning to the manager. "Stay out in the hallway. If you haven't seen her leave the building, she might still be inside here. She's still considered armed and dangerous." Tragg and the assisting Policemen searched for Diane in the apartment and discovered that she was long gone.

For the rest of the morning Tragg and his men searched the apartment and collected evidence. He made notifications to the Bomb Squad Lieutenant that some of the evidence collected would probably be related to the bomb scare in the Brent Building the day before. Tragg left a message with Perry's answering service to update him on the status of Diane Keller.

Perry got the message Saturday afternoon and called Tragg in the Homicide Division. "I appreciate the information on Diane Keller, Lieutenant. You've come across some interesting developments. She could be anywhere out there."

"We're running with every lead that comes in. We'll find her. I think she's after you because you're defending the killer of the man that she was infatuated with."

"While I respect your opinion sometimes, Lieutenant, in this case I think you're wrong."

"When Burger presents the State's case against your client on Monday morning, you'll see that your client is guilty."

"Speaking of Monday, what's being done to secure the courtroom for the hearing? I hope Burger has extra deputies on duty. I expect a media circus as usual."

"We've advised the Sheriff's Office of the need for extra security. If they need extra men, the LAPD will assist. I've asked Mr. Burger not to publicly announce the location of the hearing. You'll have to check with the DA's Office Monday morning to find out which courtroom we'll be in."

After his conversation with Lt. Tragg, Perry was ready to go to the jail for a visit with Phyllis Monroe. It was quiet in his apartment.

"Della?"

"Right here, Perry."

"If I buy take-out from 'The Chuck Wagon', will you take me to visit Phyllis Monroe in jail?"

"I'll take you to the jail, but not because you're buying dinner. We still have work to do and I'm with you until we finish this case."

Perry reached out for her. "Come here."

Della sat next to him on the sofa. "What...?"

Perry pulled her close and kissed her cheek. "I'm the luckiest man in the world to have a girl like you."

"And don't you forget it." She gave him a peck on the cheek. "Let's go, Counselor!"

**DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

Perry walked into the jail with Della and slowly made his way through the security check. The jailers were sympathetic.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Mason. Deputy Fyfe here. I'll be checking your pockets."

"Just let me know what you want me to do, Deputy. I appreciate your patience."

The jailer finished patting down Perry's clothing. "I'll just look in your briefcase and you can enter. I was sorry to hear about your injuries. I hope you get better soon. We've missed seeing you around!"

"Thanks. I've missed being here. Am I ready to go?"

Della was finished being checked out by a jail matron. She thanked the jailers and walked to Perry's side. "Yes we're ready to go inside. Grab a hold."

The jailers watched them walk away arm in arm. Deputy Fyfe remarked to the others, "If I'm ever arrested, I want him as my lawyer – nothing will stop that man!"

Phyllis Monroe was brought into the jail interview room by a jail matron. Della spoke up when she came into the room so Perry would know that she was there.

"Mrs. Monroe? Please have a seat. We have some paperwork for you."

Phyllis slowly sat down and just stared at Perry for a moment. She finally spoke while Della opened her briefcase and brought out a folder. "Mr. Mason, I was very sorry to hear about your injury. What's going to happen now?"

"Well that's why we're here today. Miss Street and Mr. Drake have continued to work on your case while I was hospitalized. I think we have enough information to defend the charges against you. But I want you to know that because of my situation right now, you _do_ have the choice to dismiss me as counsel and select another attorney. I've prepared a list of available attorneys that can..."

Phyllis stopped him right away. "Mr. Mason, if you're still willing to help me, I don't want another attorney. I've been very worried that you wouldn't be able to represent me any more."

"Just so you know, the District Attorney will make an issue of this – at least I _expect_ that he will... And depending on what the Judge decides, I _could _be dismissed as your counsel. That could delay the Hearing and keep you locked up even longer until new counsel can be appointed."

"Can you fight that? I retained _you_. I don't want anyone but you as my attorney."

"I appreciate your confidence in me. I can only ask you to sign this testimonial that I had Miss Street prepare. Basically it says that you know about my predicament, but you still wish to have me as counsel."

"I'll sign it! I'll sign anything!"

Della placed the paper in front of Phyllis. "Why don't you read it over just to be sure, Mrs. Monroe?"

"I don't need to read it. Where do I sign? I have complete trust in both of you."

After Phyllis signed the testimonial, Perry gave her the update on the case. Before they left the interview room, Perry apologized again and tried to reassure her that his defense strategy was sound. He and his team would do their best to get all charges against her dismissed. In the lobby of the jail building Perry asked Della to guide him to a pay phone to call Paul.

Della dialed Paul's home phone number and when he answered, Della handed the phone over to Perry.

"We just spoke with Mrs. Monroe in the jail, Paul. I have a few more things we can cover before the hearing Monday morning. Can I ask you to come over to my apartment tomorrow afternoon for a couple of hours?"

"As long as I won't be making lunch for you, I'll be there."

Perry assured him that if any lunch would be prepared, he'd ask his efficient secretary to handle those duties. Perry was grinning as he hung up the phone. He turned quickly to tell Della about the conversation, but bumped his head hard on the edge of the phone booth partition. He immediately winced in pain and blinked his eyes. Della saw his reaction.

"Perry? Are you okay?"

Perry continued to blink his eyes. "I... I think I just saw a flash of light! I think I just saw your silhouette when I saw that flash of light!"

"Take it easy, Perry. Are you hurt, or dizzy?"

"I'm fine. I still can't see anything, but I swear I saw a flash of light. Are you wearing your peach-colored suit with a white collared shirt?"

"I am! Perry, maybe we should get you to the doctor! Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, Della. It was just a little bump. We don't need to bother a doctor on a Saturday night. Let's go get our dinner and you can bring me home."

"If you say so. But I'm calling Dr. Parker when we get to your place. I don't care if it _is_ a Saturday night!"

**PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

Diane Keller opened the garage door at the old Keller farmhouse in the center of the orange groves of Anaheim. She'd bypassed all the posted 'No Trespassing' signs along the way. Damn developers, she thought to herself. Buying up all the farmland and then going broke before they can build anything on it. Fortunately for her, the house and garage were still standing so she'd have a place to hide out for a while. Her sister's old car in the garage will get her around when she needs to go back into downtown Los Angeles on Monday morning. But until then, she could make her plans for getting rid of Perry Mason once and for all from the comfort of her childhood home. Satisfied that the car in the garage was still ready to go, she made her way back into the house to go over her new plans. She'd start with the hair dye kit that she bought at the drug store. The men that had probably been following her will be looking for a blonde. They won't look twice at her if her hair was black.

**DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

The Sunday afternoon meeting was going well in Perry's apartment. Jerry Lawton took the opportunity to leave the apartment to take his girl to a concert in a nearby park leaving Paul and Della with Perry. Della organized the files for court after interjecting Paul's new information into the main file. Perry rubbed his forehead a lot and gave instructions for which list of questions will go with which prosecution witness.

Della refilled Perry's glass of iced tea. "Let's take a break, Perry. You're going to wear yourself out."

"I'll be just fine by tomorrow. I need to find a way to overcome the edge Burger will have tomorrow."

"We're very prepared, Perry. Exactly what _edge_ are you talking about?"

"For one thing, he'll be able to look witnesses in the eye as he questions them. I normally do the same thing. When I read deceit in their eyes or mannerisms, I can change my questioning strategies. You know what I'm talking about. We've had conversations about this before."

Paul stood up and stretched. "You plan to have me sitting at the defense table, don't you? I can help watch those witnesses for you. And Della's good at reading facial expressions. We'll have that covered for you. We'll just need to find a way to let you know what we're seeing."

"I just hope the Judge allows me to remain as counsel for Mrs. Monroe. If he tosses me out, we're going to be in trouble."

**PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

Della arrived at Perry's apartment bright and early Monday morning to get him to the Courthouse early. Jerry Lawton had just finished putting a scoop of scrambled eggs on Perry's plate when Della walked in the door. "Umm. Breakfast smells good, Jerry!"

"Have a seat, Della. The toast will be right up. I'll get you a plate of eggs right away."

"Don't fuss, Jerry. Let me help you..."

On her way into the kitchen Della stopped by the table where Perry was seated and she gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. "Good morning to you, Counselor. How are you?"

"I'm fine, thanks. I hope we get to the courthouse in plenty of time..."

"It's only 7:30, Perry. We'll have plenty of time."

Jerry stacked the toast on a plate in the kitchen while Della put eggs and sausage on her own plate. Jerry looked at his watch as he brought the plate out to the dining table. "I hate to rush off like this, but I've gotta get to work."

"Just go, Jerry. I'll take it from here." Della sat down at the table with her breakfast. Jerry got his suit coat on and started for the door.

"Good luck in Court! I'll see you two this evening."

Perry and Della thanked Jerry for the breakfast before he left the apartment. Perry stopped eating and rubbed his forehead with his hands. "This is crazy, Della. How can we pull this court hearing off when I can't see?"

Della put her fork down and held onto Perry's hand. "We'll get through this because you're you - a brilliant attorney who knows more about a courtroom than anyone! If I know you as well as I think I do, whatever comes at you in court, you'll handle it well."

Perry shook his head and grinned. "Oh, Della. You're quite a cheerleader. How can I ever lose with you at my side?"

After eating, Della washed up the breakfast dishes while Perry stood next to her drying them off. Perry thought about the last-minute details of the case.

"I wonder which courtroom we'll be in this morning..."

"I already spoke with the Sheriff's Office this morning. I've arranged to drive in a side ramp door where Police normally drop off prisoners for booking into the jail – the sally port. Courtroom deputies will meet us there and escort us through the hallway normally used for jail inmates being brought in to court. If you need to speak with Mrs. Monroe before the hearing, they'll arrange that for you also. Paul will enter the building through the main door. That way he can scout out any problems and act as a decoy for the media."

Perry just smiled and reached out for Della. "I don't need to worry about anything today. My girl has everything under control."

Della moved towards his out-reached hands. "Well then if my boss approves of all the arrangements, I think I deserve a kiss."

Perry took Della in his arms and leaned down to give her a long, soft kiss on her lips.

Della heart was racing as she brought her hands up around his neck. She reluctantly broke off the kiss and dropped her head against his chest. "We better get you ready to go." She backed away from him and straightened his handkerchief in his suit coat pocket. She looked him over again and brushed away a stray piece of lint from his sleeve. "Where are your sunglasses? Remember that Dr. Parker recommends that you wear them at all times now since seeing that flash of light Saturday."

Perry reached into his coat pocket and brought out his sunglasses. "They're right here, my dear. Shall we go?"

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When she stepped off of the bus in downtown Los Angeles near the Courthouse, Diane Keller blended in well with the people walking to their jobs or walking into the numerous businesses nearby to shop or dine. She'd planned her escape route from the Courthouse to the number 22 bus that would make a stop at precisely 10:09am outside of the side exit from the courthouse. The number 22 would get her to the southbound 19 bus which would get her back to the parking lot where she left her car. She grinned to herself. It was all planned. A few gunshots into the great Perry Mason from the pistol that she was carrying in her purse and she'd be home free. Phyllis Monroe would lose her court case and be sent to prison – or better yet, the gas chamber - and it will be the great Diane Keller getting away with murder!

The hallways in the Courthouse were noisy and busy with news reporters walking around trying to determine which Courtroom would be the site of the hearing for State of California versus the wealthy Phyllis Monroe. Paul used a pay phone in the lobby to call his contact in the Courthouse to find out exactly which Courtroom was selected for the hearing. After hanging up the phone, he lit a cigarette and casually walked towards the elevator, not knowing at the time that he was being closely watched by a reporter from the Chronicle. The reporter and his photographer followed Paul to the elevator and stood close enough to him to be able to get on the elevator with him and follow him into the secret Courtroom.

Paul spotted the reporter and just to be certain that he was being followed by them, he stepped aside when the elevator doors opened allowing the elevator to fill up with others while he continued smoking his cigarette nearby. When the two men next to him didn't try to get on the elevator, Paul knew that they were tailing him, probably trying to follow him to the unpublicized Courtroom. Feeling uneasy that their cover was blown, the reporter and his photographer walked away from the elevator and walked over to the phone booths nearby. Paul just grinned at the men as they kept an eye on him from the phone booths. Glancing up at the elevator's floor location dial, Paul timed it so that he'd make it on to an elevator going up before the reporter could get on the elevator with him and follow him to the Courtroom. As soon as the next elevator door opened and the people inside walked off, Paul quickly snuffed out his cigarette and jumped on as the doors began closing. He waved at the reporter and his photographer as they were cut off from getting on the elevator.

Diane Keller walked the hallways of the Courthouse trying to figure out in which courtroom the hearing would be conducted. She avoided drawing attention to herself so inquiring at the information desk was not an option. She carefully watched people in the hallways and spotted a deputy escorting two men that she knew worked at Iverson Oil Company. She grinned knowing that if she followed _them_, she'd end up in the right courtroom.

After a brief meeting with Phyllis Monroe in the jail inmate holding area, Perry and Della were ready to enter the courtroom shortly before 10am. Burger and Lt. Tragg entered the courtroom from a door just off the Judge's chambers. Paul made his way into the courtroom and stood next to the defense table. As deputies escorted witnesses into the courtroom, the gallery began filling up with reporters who used the same strategy as Diane Keller to find the right place. Diane entered the room and found a seat two rows directly behind the defense table. The commotion in the courtroom grew louder but momentarily quieted down to loud whispers as Perry and Della entered through the side door with Phyllis Monroe escorted by two deputies. The camera flashbulbs popped constantly as reporters in the gallery captured images of Perry in his dark sunglasses walking into the room on the arm of his secretary.

As the Judge entered the courtroom at 10:02am, the Bailiff called for all to rise and the Court to come to order. Diane Keller was on her feet and reached into her purse to grip the handgun she had concealed there. Perry released his grip on Della's arm so she could place their briefcase on the table. As the Judge got seated, the people in the gallery began settling into their seats. Paul leaned over towards Perry to quietly tell him good luck. Diane Keller remained standing and with her finger on the trigger of the gun, she slowly began bringing the weapon out of her purse.

**TBC**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

As Judge Riley was about to proceed further with the case of the State of California versus Phyllis Monroe, a group of loud reporters entered the rear of the courtroom. One angry reporter walking in was yelling at a deputy who was trying to keep order in the gallery.

"Have you read the First Amendment? Freedom of the press comes under the First Amendment! You can't keep us out of here! I'm entitled to have a seat in this courtroom – someone else will have to give up their seat if there's not enough room. It's my right to be here!"

"Sir, Court has been called to order. You need to be quiet!" The deputy was trying to calm the reporter.

A shouting match between other members of the press ensued when the disruptive reporter tried to eject another reporter from a seat in the gallery by the door. "Hey! Knock it off! We were here first! Find your own place or get out!"

Diane Keller was about to pull the trigger on the gun until the commotion in the back of the Courtroom changed her plan. The reporters and deputies arguing by the door were blocking her escape route. All of the chaos in the Courtroom might have worked to her advantage, but then Paul Drake stood up to watch the argument. He stood directly behind the great Perry Mason in her line of fire so she wouldn't have a clear shot him. She took her finger off of the trigger and dropped the gun back into her purse. She sat down disappointed and thought that she'd have to wait for a better opportunity.

The Judge was furious with the disruption in his Court. "Order! I want order in this Court – _now_!" He pounded his gavel hard from the Bench several times until the noise in the gallery quieted down.

Judge Riley was not finished giving orders. "Counsel, approach the bench. Bailiff, I want this courtroom cleared of everyone in the gallery – _now_!"

Perry stood up and Della shuffled over sideways behind the defense table to his side to walk him to the Bench. Burger walked up to the Bench looking back at the deputies clearing the gallery.

Judge Riley was still visibly upset but he addressed Perry and Burger in a calm voice. "This is _not_ the way I wanted this hearing to begin. Under the circumstances and due to the high-profile nature of this case, every precaution has been taken to ensure a safe and fair Preliminary Hearing. As of now, changes will be made. I'm calling a brief recess so that we can sequester all of the witnesses on the subpoena list and issue credentials for the press to send minimal representation into the gallery. This Court stands adjourned until 11 o'clock."

For the next hour the court deputies escorted witnesses with subpoenas to a jury meeting room. Other Court personnel gathered the members of the press and issued courtroom passes for one journalist per news agency to enter the courtroom.

Perry, Della, and Paul stayed at the defense table quietly discussing the events of the morning. Phyllis Monroe was brought back to a holding room outside of the Courtroom. Burger approached the defense table putting a hand on Perry's shoulder.

"Perry, it's me, Hamilton. How are you feeling? I'm sorry that I haven't had the opportunity to talk with you since you were attacked."

"I understand, Hamilton. But I'm doing just fine considering..."

"Well I hope that they find Diane Keller soon. I plan to ask the Prosecutor to request no bail on your case once she's captured and arraigned."

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In the hallways of the courthouse, the commotion continued. The Sheriff's Office was forced to clear out the entire hallway on the floor where the hearing was being conducted. Eventually an orderly process was used to screen persons wanting into the gallery and courtroom passes were issued. Diane Keller was not given a pass so she left the building to plot her next move.

The Bailiff made the announcement just past 11 o'clock that Court was back in session. Judge Riley told Burger that he could proceed with the case.

"Your Honor, if it please the Court, before my opening statement, the State objects to Mr. Mason acting as defense counsel for the Defendant. The State has two reasons for the objection. First it is unfair to the Defendant if counsel is incompetent to perform legal services under Rule 3-110. And furthermore, the Prosecution feels that Mr. Mason's – uh – _situation_ will be a distraction for orderly proceedings in this matter especially with witness testimony..."

Judge Riley looked towards the defense table. "Mr. Mason?"

Perry stood and addressed the Judge, "Your Honor, Defense Counsel met with the Defendant before these proceedings began. Defendant signed a testimonial which I'm prepared to present which indicates Defendant's desire for me to remain as her Defense Counsel for this hearing. And Defense Counsel intends to avoid distractions with witnesses and keep the proceedings moving along without undue delays."

"Very well, gentlemen. Objection overruled. Disruptions during witness testimony will be reevaluated if distractions occur. You may proceed Mr. Burger."

Burger laid out a brief overview of the criminal case against Phyllis Monroe and the Judge then gave Perry the opportunity to outline his defense.

"Your Honor, if it please the Court, the defense requests that the charges against the defendant be dismissed. The only evidence that the Prosecution can present can also be tied to another suspect still at large..."

Judge Riley immediately interrupted Perry. "Mr. Mason, I'm going to take your motion under advisement at this time. As the hearing proceeds, you'll have the right to make your objections at that time. If this case goes to trial, you may file motions to suppress any evidence that you feel is not directly involving your client."

By the noon recess for lunch, Perry was feeling good about the hearing so far. He felt victorious to still be representing Mrs. Monroe. He also felt good about keeping Burger on his toes in presenting evidence which might implicate Diane Keller, or any other suspects, in the murder of Marshall Monroe. Perry expected that Burger would be calling Lt. Tragg to the stand to start the afternoon session.

Paul went to a nearby deli to find lunch for the team so they could eat in a jury deliberation room away from interaction with the public during the lunch recess. The area was set up by Burger who was still concerned for Perry's safety and the possibility of interference from the media. While eating their roast beef sandwiches, Perry and Della discussed evidence from the murder scene that Tragg would be testifying about.

Della read from her case notes."According to his Police report, Tragg based some of his probable cause to arrest Mrs. Monroe on statements that she made at the scene. I noted that it was Mrs. Monroe who phoned the Police when she found Marshall dead."

Perry took off his sunglasses and was rubbing his forehead again while he listened to Della. "As soon as Tragg begins to introduce the statements made by Mrs. Monroe at the scene I'll object. Have our notes ready in case I need you to read me something from the file. If I start interrupting the hearing with unnecessary delays, Judge Riley will not be happy."

When the afternoon Court session was called to order, Lt. Tragg took the stand and Burger immediately asked him about what Mrs. Monroe told him at the murder scene.

Before Tragg could answer the question, Perry stood up right away to object. "Objection your Honor. Any statements made by my client at the scene should not be allowed as evidence. Due to my client's emotional state at the time of Lt. Tragg's questions, they can be considered coercive since this questioning occurred in the room where the deceased was still visible to my client during the questioning. Furthermore, when my client phoned the Police to report the murder, she remained at the scene only to provide an overview of what she found so as to cooperate with the Police who forced her to remain on scene without benefit of Counsel."

Judge Riley looked to Burger.

Burger stood up. "Your Honor, the Prosecution considers any statements by the Defendant to be permissible for evidentiary value since they are considered spontaneous utterances."

"Objection sustained."

Burger frowned but continued questioning Tragg. The only other testimony by Tragg that Perry was able to successfully challenge was when Tragg showed blood on the dress worn by Mrs. Monroe at the murder scene. Tragg had earlier testified that numerous strikes to the deceased's head would have caused splattered blood patterns on clothing worn by the murderer. Perry was able to show that the blood on Mrs. Monroe's dress was a large spot of blood caused by Mrs. Monroe attempting to provide medical assistance to her husband when she found him on the floor in their home.

After Tragg's testimony, court adjourned until 10 o'clock the next morning.

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By candle light in the former Keller family farmhouse, Diane Keller plotted her next strategy to get into the courtroom and kill Perry Mason. With a scissors and a piece of reinforced paper, she forged an identification card showing that the person named on the card was a reporter from the New York Times newspaper. Knowing that only one journalist from each media outlet was allowed in the courtroom, Diane thought that there couldn't possibly be anyone representing a newspaper from so far away. She put the finishing touches on the card and double checked the ammunition in the handgun that she would use to finish off Mr. Perry Mason.

The next morning, after Jerry had left for work, Della followed the same routine to bring Perry to the Courthouse. This time, however, Paul joined them for breakfast in Perry's kitchen.

"What's for breakfast today?" Paul was hungrier than usual.

Della was wearing the apron today. "French toast and banana slices. Why don't you find the maple syrup in the refrigerator? We'll be ready to eat in a minute."

Paul looked around the apartment. "Where's Perry?"

"In his bedroom. He insisted on feeling his way back to his closet on his own to put on a new tie. He was helping to mix the eggs for the french toast and got egg on his other tie."

"How in the hell will he know which tie he's choosing?"

Perry was slowly making his way back into the kitchen, carefully feeling his way along the furniture and the walls. "I happen to remember which tie is hung in which area of my closet. Correct me if I'm wrong, Paul, but this should be a dark blue silk tie with thin diagonal red stripes." Perry had the tie fixed loosely at his unbuttoned collar.

Paul just rolled his eyes when he saw Perry with the tie he had described. "I should have known..."

After breakfast, Paul left for Court right away. Della cleaned up the breakfast dishes and before leaving for Court, she helped Perry to finish buttoning his shirt and straightening his tie. She gently pulled him towards her for a kiss. "Good luck again today, Counselor. So far, so good."

"It's only good because I have the best team with me. Shall we go?" He reached out for Della, put his sunglasses on, and they left for the Courthouse.

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Security was even tighter in the hallway outside of the courtroom. Paul stood by watching as a line of reporters with their credentials were screened to enter the courtroom. Paul was still caught up in the hallway activities shortly after 10 o'clock when the Hearing began in the courtroom. His attention was drawn earlier to a woman in line being screened to enter the courtroom. He began to wonder if this woman could be Diane Keller. She matched the description of Diane with the exception of her black hair. To Paul, she looked just a little out of place. He walked over closer to the deputy checking the credentials to listen in on more of their heated conversation.

"I told you already, ma'am. There's already another reporter from the Times in the courtroom. And his credentials looked nothing like the one you're showing me right now. I think you better call your home office and try to clear up the confusion. You're not going in that courtroom!"

Paul identified himself to the deputy and asked if he could take a look at the identification card. Diane Keller quickly grabbed the card out of the deputy's hand and opened her handbag to put it away. Paul looked into the open bag and saw the wooden grips of the handle on a gun.

Paul grabbed onto Diane's hand. "Hold on, lady! Why are you carrying a gun?"

The deputy immediately grabbed Diane's other hand as she struggled with them to try and run away.

Diane began screaming at Paul and the deputy. "Stop it! Let me go! I have the right to be here! I'm a reporter." Other persons in line began to back away from the disturbance.

In the struggle, Diane's handbag fell to the floor and the gun fell out. Diane kicked at Paul and the deputy while she continued to scream.

"That's not my gun! Let me go! You have no right to hold me! Let me go..."

Diane was squirming wildly, and managed to escape their hold on her by biting and kicking them. She dropped to the floor on her knees. By quickly grabbing onto the gun she was able to pull the trigger. The gun discharged and a bullet went into the wall outside of the courtroom. The sound of the gunshot caused chaos in the hallway when people in the hall screamed and began running away. Paul and the deputy managed to gain control of Diane and the gun. She was finally handcuffed and led away by assisting deputies.

The hallway noise, including the sound of the gunshot, carried into the courtroom and the Judge interrupted the proceedings ordering the Bailiff to find out what was happening in the hallway. Most of the journalists in the gallery ran for the door, not wanting to miss this headline news opportunity.

Della grabbed on to Perry's arm. "Paul is still out in the hallway! I better go check on him..."

Perry stood up and held onto Della's arm. "No! Don't go out there. Stay right here! That was a gunshot I heard. Let the deputies do their job."

The confusion and disruption in the Court caused the Judge to call Perry and Burger to the Bench right away. Della walked Perry to the Bench.

"Counselors, until we find out the meaning of this disturbance, I recommend we take a brief recess. Court is adjourned until 2 o'clock this afternoon."

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With Diane Keller in custody, Tragg and Burger set out to interview her in the jail after she was booked in. Afterwards, Burger summoned Perry and Della to his office to discuss the new developments in the case. From Burger's office, they went to meet in Judge Riley's chambers to resolve the case of California versus Phyllis Monroe. The hearing was called to order back in the Courtroom promptly at 2 o'clock. When Judge Riley asked Burger to continue, he stood to speak on the record about the conversation held earlier in Judge Riley's chambers.

"Your Honor, may it please the Court. After discussion in chambers, the State wishes to withdraw the criminal Complaint against Mrs. Phyllis Monroe. The State moves to dismiss all charges against the Defendant."

The reporters in the gallery immediately began talking loudly amongst themselves, unaware of the reasons behind Burger's motion. Judge Riley tapped his gavel on the Bench.

"I want order in this Court!" As the reporters in the gallery quieted down, the Judge addressed Perry. "Mr. Mason?"

"The defense concurs, your Honor."

Judge Riley again tapped his gavel. "So moved. The Defendant is released from custody and the charges against her dismissed. Court is adjourned."

With tears of joy in her eyes, Phyllis Monroe turned to Perry and gave him a hug. "Mr. Mason? I can't thank you and your team enough for this. I can't wait to get out of here and breathe fresh air!"

Perry embraced her for a moment and then released his grip. "I'm glad that this worked out for you. We never doubted your innocence. Do you have someone to help you get home after you're processed out of the jail?"

"My cousin will be waiting. I plan to leave town for a few days. Then I promise to meet you in your office to square away the costs of my defense. I hope that you get well soon!"

Perry, Della, and Paul began walking out of the Courtroom through a side door. Burger met them before they walked out.

"I assume that you'll be going back to your office? After my quick press conference, I'd like to briefly meet with you in your office."

"Don't be too long, Mr. Burger. We might run out of champagne!"

Back in the office, Della had just finished putting out snacks and a bottle of champagne at the conference table in Perry's office when Lt. Tragg walked in.

"As of ten minutes ago, I'm officially off duty until I resume my report writing tomorrow! Who's in charge of opening the champagne?"

Perry was seated at the conference table. "Be my guest, Lieutenant! I'm glad that you can join us. You deserve time off now that you just solved three murders in one day!"

As Della put out plates and champagne glasses on the table, Paul came in the back door. "I can sure use something to drink – and I might start out with something stronger than champagne, if you don't mind."

Della was smiling. "I've got you covered, Paul. There's ice in the bucket in the kitchen and you have a choice of bourbon or scotch."

They were feasting on cheese, crackers, and shrimp cocktail when Burger came in with another bottle of champagne. "I'm hoping that this champagne gift will make up for having to challenge your competency as defense counsel in court yesterday, Perry. No offense taken?"

"No offense taken, Hamilton. I know that you were just doing your job."

Della accepted the champagne from Burger and offered him a plate for snacks. "What's going to happen to Diane Keller? I'm so relieved that she's in custody – and I hope that she's in custody for _life_!"

Burger filled his plate with snacks. "She'll remain in custody for a long time. Even if she enters an insanity plea, I think we can keep her behind bars for a real long time."

Tragg brushed cracker crumbs from his slacks. "We won't lose anything on a technicality from questioning her. She admitted to everything and was actually proud of herself for murdering Marshall Monroe and blowing up the Iverson's yacht in Mexico. We're tying all of our evidence that we collected to Marshall Monroe's murder. And you were right about the gun, Drake. It belonged to Marshall Monroe and she stole it from him after she murdered him."

Paul tossed the last of his scotch from his glass down his throat and picked up a glass of champagne. "The question I have is why she killed Marshall Monroe in the first place. I thought she was in love with him."

Tragg gave a quick answer. "That was one of the keys to all of the murders. She was angry with Marshall because he was married to Phyllis instead of her. Diane was paid $10,000 dollars by Marshall to be his alibi for when he killed Delores Monroe. He killed Delores when she refused to give him a divorce so that he could marry Phyllis. When Diane first heard that he was thinking of divorcing Delores, she thought that he'd then marry her. She then found out that he was really going to marry Phyllis. So Diane planned to murder Phyllis by blowing up the Iverson family's yacht."

Paul was able to add to Tragg's story. "Only Phyllis flew back to LA instead. That's what I found when I was down in Mexico. Diane Keller was there around the time that the Iverson's were going to return on the yacht to LA. When we suspected her of placing the bomb here in Perry's office, it all came together in my mind with what I found in Mexico."

Della just shook her head. "I hope that _she_ never sees the light of day again!"

"And I hope that someday soon, I will be seeing the light of day!" Perry raised his glass of champagne. They all tipped their glasses together in a toast to Perry's health.

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By the next morning Della arrived at Perry's apartment to begin their daily routine again. Instead of having to go to court, Della would be bringing Perry in to Dr. Parker's office.

Perry was trying to fix his tie as they stood in his living room. "We have so much to do in the office, Della. I don't know why we can't just wait to see Dr. Parker tomorrow."

Della took over fixing his tie. "Your orders from Dr. Parker Saturday night were to see him in his office at your first free opportunity. You're free this morning."

"I thought that we'd have time to catch up on the Smith case today."

Della just chuckled at him. "I have all of the documents for the Smith case practically signed, sealed and delivered. What do you think I was doing at work while you were demanding attention from all of those pretty nurses in the hospital?" Della finished tying his tie and patted him on the chest to back away from him.

Perry gently grabbed onto her and pulled her close. "I couldn't tell if those nurses were pretty or not. I can't see, remember?"

"Well I'm sure that you enjoyed their feminine touch..."

"Sure... I only got touched when they were giving me a shot for pain or taking my temperature. It was not as nice as _your_ touch." Perry began kissing Della's cheek. "And their perfume was not as sweet of a fragrance as yours." He found her lips and kissed her more.

Della kissed him back but then pulled away. "So I'll bet that you just laid back and evaluated their fragrances which made you desire them even more. I'm sure that you couldn't wait for Nurse Hermes' or Nurse Chanel No. 5 to come in to take your blood pressure. I'd love to see your chart and find out which nurse made your heart beat faster..."

Perry cupped her cheeks in his hands and softly kissed her lips again. "You're so wrong, Miss Street. I waited all day just to inhale _your_ scent. If they would have taken my blood pressure with you by my side, it probably would have busted the cuff."

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From the waiting room in Dr. Parker's office, Perry was escorted down a hall to the x-ray department. Della sat in the waiting room reading a magazine. About thirty minutes later, Perry was brought back into the waiting room by a nurse.

"Have a seat right here, Mr. Mason. Dr. Parker will be with you soon."

Della closed her magazine and touched Perry's arm so he knew that she was sitting next to him.

"How do you feel, Perry? You look a little pale."

"I thought they'd never finish taking x-rays... It was 'turn your head this way, breathe in, breathe out, turn your head that way, hold still now'. They must have taken twenty x-rays."

"Where are you sunglasses? You should put them back on."

Perry reached into his coat pocket and brought out his sunglasses. "I still don't know why I'm wearing these crazy sunglasses. I must look like an idiot wearing them indoors."

Della gently squeezed his arm. "Stop being such a difficult patient. If it wasn't good for you, the doctor wouldn't have ordered you to wear them."

They patiently waited to see Dr. Parker and after forty minutes Perry was getting more anxious. "What in the hell takes them so long to look at an x-ray? I need a cigarette. We could be back in the office getting work done."

"Shhhh, Perry. Those aren't just any ordinary x-rays. Dr. Parker knows what he's doing. We're not in any hurry, so if it takes a while to read the results, so be it."

Della had barely finished talking about the wait when a nurse came into the waiting room to bring Perry into an exam room. Perry told the nurse right away that he wanted Della to come with him into the exam room. "That's fine, Mr. Mason. Let's get you in the exam room. Dr. Parker will be in shortly."

Perry seemed nervous. "I should have brought my cigarettes. What time is it, Della?"

"11:40. I'll get you some lunch when we're through here."

While Perry was fidgeting in the exam room, Della looked around at posters of the human brain and other charts on the wall. She was fascinated by the intricate details on the posters showing the different parts of the brain. She looked at her watch wondering why they'd been waiting another ten minutes to see Dr. Parker.

A moment later, Dr. Parker walked into the exam room. "Hello Mr. Mason... Miss Street... I just read the x-rays. Let's talk about my findings."

Della read his facial expression and saw the frown on Dr. Parker's face. Her heart sank and she felt a tightness in her chest. He must have found problems with Perry's x-rays!

**TBC**

Chapter Eight coming up soon. Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Dr. Parker sat down at the small desk in the examination room. Before he could talk about Perry's x-rays, a nurse came into the room. "Excuse me. I'm sorry to bother you again Dr. Parker. Mr. Johnson's family has just one more question before they leave."

Dr. Parker excused himself and left the room. Perry and Della heard muffled voices in the hallway outside of the room and then Dr. Parker returned.

"I'm really sorry about that." He paused for a moment and still had a sad look on his face. "The family that I just met with just heard my diagnosis on their loved one's inoperable brain tumor..."

Della looked down and exhaled slowly – relieved that Dr. Parker's distraught look on his face probably had nothing to do with Perry's situation. Just minutes ago she was expecting bad news when she saw the look on Dr. Parker's face. Now she felt bad for the family that received the bad news instead.

"I appreciate your patience this morning." Dr. Parker managed a weary smile. "Let's take a look at you, Mr. Mason."

Dr. Parker asked Perry to sit down on the examination bed so he could look at the surgical incision on Perry's head. While Perry got comfortable on the bed, Dr. Parked remarked about Perry's x-rays as he looked at Perry's incision.

"The incision is really healing well. I apologize for having so many x-rays taken. In a situation like yours, I need very precise views of your skull. I had a colleague take a look at them also. That's why it took a little more time this morning."

Perry tried to get right to the point. "Well am I going to live, Doc?"

"I was very encouraged by what I saw. Your swelling has gone down quite a bit. Hold still please while I look in your ears."

Dr. Parker continued his exam. "Lay back on the bed please. Let's check your vision. What part of your head did you bump the other night when you saw that flash of light?"

Perry pointed out his left temple area. Dr. Parker looked over the area that Perry had pointed to. "I don't see any bruising. The x-ray of that area was fine so I don't think you did any harm."

Dr. Parker brought out his pen light. "Let's check your eyes. I'm going to hold your right eye closed. Keep your left eye open and tell me when you see the light."

As soon as the light came on, Perry acknowledged seeing it. "I can see a little light."

"Very good, Mr. Mason. Let's try that with your right eye now."

The light was on for several seconds and Perry did not see a light.

"Well there's really no change with your vision, but I'm pleased with your overall progress. How are the headaches?"

"Now that my latest court case is finished, I think my head is fine."

"I understand that you have a very important job to do, Mr. Mason, but I really hope that you'll take it easy for a while. You've made remarkable progress for someone with such a bad head injury. Keep the stress level down and I think you'll have your vision back before you know it."

"Did you hear that, Miss Street? You can't keep pushing me to work harder and harder all the time. I need time to recover – doctor's orders." Perry had a smirk on his face.

Dr. Parker was smiling at Perry's humor, looking over at Della as she smiled back and shook her head. "Yes sir, Mr. Mason. It looks like we'll have to send you home for the rest of the day. The mail and all of that other important hard work that I make you do in the office can wait for another day."

Before Dr. Parker let Perry go, he told him to immediately report any changes in his vision or headaches. He then looked to Della. "I want to see him back here in a week, not matter what. If there's no improvement, we might need to do another spinal tap. Just keep wearing those sunglasses!"

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For the rest of the week, Della made sure that Perry was only in the office for part of the day. She tried to find somewhat normal activities for him to do to distract him from not being able to see. On Friday night, Della convinced Perry that they should go to the symphony concert like they had planned to do long before Perry was blinded in the assault. On Saturday, Paul brought Perry fishing on the Santa Monica pier while Della was away volunteering at the orphanage. By Sunday evening, Perry was anxious to return to the office the next day and work on a couple of briefs that he was way overdue preparing. After a light dinner that Jerry made for him, Perry told Jerry that he was going to call it a night and wanted to just fall asleep to the sounds of music on his radio.

As he'd been doing for quite a few nights, Perry insisted on walking into his bedroom alone, using his hands to feel for the walls and furniture to guide himself into the room. On this particular night, however, he tripped on his slippers that were laying near his bed and fell head first into his closet door. Jerry heard the crash and rushed in to check on him.

"Perry! Are you okay? What happened?"

Perry was getting up off of the floor shaking his head. "I'm alright, Jerry. I just tripped that's all." Perry blinked his eyes and saw fuzzy images appearing in front of him. He shook his head again.

"Jerry? Turn on the light. I think I can see my bedroom!"

Jerry held onto Perry's arm to get him back on his feet and turned on the light switch in Perry's room. Perry turned his head towards the lamp in his room. He slowly walked towards it blinking his eyes. "My vision's coming back, Jerry! I can see light. I can see everything in my room." He turned towards Jerry. "I can see you! You're wearing a red shirt... It's blurry, but I can see your red shirt!"

"I better call your doctor, Perry. This is a major breakthrough!"

"Hold on, Jerry. I don't need to bother Dr. Parker tonight. I'll call him tomorrow. I can see blurry images and light right now. I'll wait until tomorrow before I get the doctor involved."

"Maybe I should call Della. She'll wanna know about this..."

"No! I don't want her to know about this – yet! You know how women are. She'll want me to go to the doctor tonight. Help me out here. I want to surprise her when she gets here to take me to the office in the morning."

**DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

Jerry met Della at Perry's apartment door as he was leaving for work the next morning. He paused, tempted to tell Della Perry's good news, but he left for work instead.

Perry stood in the kitchen wearing his sunglasses anxiously awaiting Della's arrival. "Is that you, Della?"

She walked into the kitchen and touched his arm. "It's me. How do you feel?"

Perry was busy cooking on the stove. "I'm fine. Here – taste this." He held a cooking spoon out for Della to take a taste.

"Umm. That's delicious! Hollandaise sauce?"

"Umm hmm. I thought I'd make Eggs Benedict for you today. Grab a cup of coffee and sit down. It's almost ready."

Della had a puzzled look on her face as she poured herself a cup of coffee. "Do you need me to help?"

Perry turned back towards her from the stove. He reached out for her and gave her a quick kiss on her cheek. "No thanks. I don't need help. Just sit down."

Della watched him, amazed that he was moving around the kitchen so well. She slowly sat down at the dining table.

Perry brought out the toasted english muffins, topped them with slices of Canadian bacon, placed the poached eggs on top and smothered it all with the hollandaise sauce. Della curiously looked on while she placed her napkin on her lap. He looked so comfortable making the breakfast.

"Here you go, ma'am." Perry placed her breakfast directly in front of her, walked back to the stove, and quickly returned with a plate of his own. He sat down and began eating right away looking as if nothing was wrong.

Della just sat and stared at him with a raised eyebrow slowly sipping her coffee.

Perry briefly stopped eating and placed his hand on top of hers on the table. "Eat up. You don't want it to get cold, do you?"

Della sat back in her chair and crossed her arms across her chest. She wondered how he knew that she wasn't eating. "Is there something you want to tell me Mr. Mason?"

Perry put his fork and knife down and swallowed his eggs. "What do you want to know?" Perry had a wide smile on his face.

Della stood up. "You can _see_, can't you? You got your vision back, didn't you?"

"Oh... Didn't I mention that? I guess that I forgot in all the excitement of making breakfast for you..."

Perry barely finished the sentence before Della had her arms around his neck kissing his cheeks. His sunglasses fell to the floor. Perry pulled Della onto his lap and began softly kissing her lips. Between kisses he tried speaking to her. "I... wanted... to surprise... you! You're... so... beautiful... today..."

Washing the dishes after they finally finished breakfast, Della just smiled and shook her head. "You could have called me – shared your good news with me..."

Perry was drying the dishes after Della washed them. "You would have made me call Dr. Parker right away. Besides, I'm not completely cured. My vision is still blurry. What could Dr. Parker have done last night that he can't do this afternoon?"

"He could have at least looked at the bump on your head from your fall."

"It's not a bump. It was just a little sore last night."

"I'll never understand why you men always avoid going to the doctor when you're hurt."

Perry put away the last dish and kissed Della on the cheek. "And I'll never understand why women get so worked up when a man just bumps his head."

After a quick examination by Dr. Parker later that day, Perry was told that he was only 80% cured. He referred Perry to an Ophthalmologist for further examination. Della giggled when Perry was ordered to continue wearing his sunglasses indoors until then.

**PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

The office was nearly back to business as usual when Phyllis Monroe came in on Friday the 16th of June. She was thrilled that Perry was getting better.

"In addition to leaving this check for you, I want you to have a bonus." Phyllis opened her purse and brought out a photograph. She placed it on Perry's desk. Della looked over Perry's shoulder to view the photo.

"What's this? A boat?" Perry took off his sunglasses to take a closer look.

"It's a yacht. A sixty-footer. My parents bought it for me as a wedding gift... I don't want any mementos of _that_ disastrous marriage. And like I told Mr. Drake during the murder investigation, I don't like boats. I really want you to have it."

Perry looked at Della and handed her the photo so she could take a better look at it. "While I appreciate your kind gesture, I can't accept this, Phyllis. That yacht is probably worth a fortune! Your payment today more than covers my fee for legal services."

"I _wanted_ to pay you _double_ – especially for all of your trouble. Including the medical bills..."

Perry smiled. "That's not necessary at all." Perry gave the photo back to Phyllis. "Really, I just can't accept this yacht."

Phyllis pouted. "Let's make a deal, Mr. Mason. It's a brand new yacht. Never been out on the open water. It's at the marina at Dana Point in the West Basin – just south of Laguna Beach. Why don't you just humor me and take it out for a long weekend? Break it in with a trip to Catalina or some other place. If you don't want to accept it as a bonus after that, I'll take it back and sell it. Then I'll donate the proceeds to your favorite charity."

**DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

Perry was cleared 100% by Dr. Parker on Thursday, the 22nd of June and he wasted no time convincing Della to close up the office for a long weekend starting the next day. He arrived at Della's apartment by 10 o'clock Friday morning.

Walking in her apartment door, Perry found Della walking out of her bedroom with two large suitcases. A smaller cosmetics bag was already waiting by the door along with four odd-shaped packages wrapped with bows.

"It's just a long weekend, Della. We'll be back Monday afternoon. Do you really need all of this luggage?"

Della crossed her arms across her chest and lifted a finger pointing it under her chin. "There's only one more bag in my bedroom. I suppose that I can reorganize my luggage and I can get away with only bringing just two large suitcases and my cosmetics bag..."

Perry rolled his eyes. "We're not sailing on the Queen Mary, Della. It's a yacht. Only sixty feet long. Catalina is less than forty miles from Dana Point. That's about a ninety minute cruise..."

"Well if you'd let me in on where we're staying and what we plan to do, I'll know what clothing that I should bring."

"You're beautiful with what you're wearing right now. Add swimming attire and a straw hat to keep the sun off of the freckles on your face, and you'll be all set. We can always shop for more clothes in Avalon if you need them. Let's go!"

Della looked over her bags. "Fine. I'll bring just one bag. Give me a minute here to re-pack. Maybe you want to carry those packages out to your car."

"May I ask what all of this is?"

"They're your birthday presents. And you won't be able to talk me out of bringing your gifts."

When they finally arrived at the marina, Perry found the manager and arranged for a dock hand to help him locate and load the yacht. The manager assured Perry that the yacht had been stocked with all of the things that Perry had ordered and it was all set to cruise to Catalina.

The dock hand finished loading their bags and Perry gave him a substantial tip. Perry escorted Della aboard the yacht from the dock. She was in awe.

"This boat is huge! What a nice deck. A barbecue grill... lounge chairs... I want to see inside. Where do you get inside this floating palace?"

Perry held out his elbow. "Come along with me, Miss Street. I'll give you the Captain's tour." He walked her below deck. "The living room... a nice kitchen – fully stocked with cookware and utensils... stove, refrigerator... the bar..."

Della stopped in the kitchen area and opened the refrigerator. "My goodness, Perry! This is stocked to feed an army!"

"I don't want to hear you to complain about being hungry..." He continued the tour. "Here's the master bedroom... there's a guest bedroom... the bathroom – in the Navy we called it 'the head'."

"This is almost as big as my apartment!"

Perry took Della by the hand. "Come on. Let's go up to the bridge and get this ship out to sea. I want to show you your duties as First Mate..."

**PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

The dock hand helped Perry with the ropes, so that Perry could maneuver the yacht out of the marina and out onto the open water. Just over an hour later Perry anchored the yacht in Avalon Bay just off Catalina Island. They both changed into their boating attire – Della in her aqua green one-piece swimsuit with a stylish wrap shirt and sandals, topped off with her straw hat. Perry wore swimming trunks with a button-down tropical shirt and a very fitting Captain's hat.

Out on the sun deck with their first cocktails of the day, Della handed Perry his sunglasses. "Doctor's orders – especially outside in sunny weather."

Perry put the sunglasses on. "This sunshine might not last long. There are thunderstorms in the forecast."

"Before the rain comes down, I want you to open your birthday gifts." Della ran inside and brought the gifts out onto the sun deck.

Perry unwrapped the four gifts one at a time. "Fishing tackle. How in the world did you know that I needed this?"

"That's a secretary's secret."

Perry leaned over to her and kissed her. "Thank you, baby. Maybe I'll show your how to catch a marlin this weekend."

By late afternoon, Della put out smoked salmon with crackers to snack on and the beverage of choice became a light red Beaujolais from the Burgundy region of France. They sat side by side on the lounge chairs just relaxing on the sun deck oblivious to the clouds beginning to thicken up behind them.

Perry took Della's hand in his and interlaced their fingers. "I think that it's time that we talk about that _issue_ – the issue you referred to in the hospital – '_that marriage issue_'..."

Della sat up straight. "How do you remember me saying that? You were so out of it. I only said that to take your mind off of your pain and vision loss..."

"Well it worked. I didn't feel much pain at all after hearing you say that – and now I've got my vision back... Right now my only vision for the future is spending the rest of my life with you. I really do want to marry you, Della. But I won't push the issue on you."

Della was smiling, and she blushed slightly. Leaning over towards Perry, she kissed his soft lips. "We have all weekend to talk about it."

"Whatever you decide, baby. But just remember, as Captain of this ship, I have the authority to marry couples at sea." Perry tipped his cap.

"Is that so? Don't you need some sort of a book of marriage vows to read from?"

"My dear Miss Street! Do you doubt that a legal eagle like me doesn't know what a couple should say to each other to make a marriage legal?"

"If you _were_ to marry, what would your vows be?"

Perry leaned back towards Della. "All I need to say is that I take you, Della Street, to be my wife for the rest of my life. It's simple and right to the point."

"That doesn't sound very romantic."

"I thought that you just wanted something legal?" He paused and then continued. "Okay, let me rephrase it. How about if I say something like, I love you more than anyone in the world, Della Street, and I take you to be my wife for the rest of my life?"

"That was a slight improvement, but I think you can do better than that!"

Their conversation was interrupted abruptly when a strong wind swept across the sun deck blowing Della's straw hat off of her head. Della jumped out of her lounge chair to grab onto the hat as big drops of rain began to fall and the sound of thunder closed in on them. In the pouring rain, they scrambled to bring their party indoors.

Together, they cleaned up the mess that the rain made of their outdoor party. Soaked to the skin by the rain, Perry took off his wet shirt and found towels for them to dry off with. He gathered Della in his arms and began drying her off. "Now, where were we?"

Della kicked off her wet sandals, put her arms around his neck and just swayed in Perry's arms as he wrapped her up in the towel. "We were talking about marriage vows – _romantic_ marriage vows."

"That's right... You said that my vows sounded too legal. If you think that I can come up with something better, how would you change them, or better yet, what would _you_ say?" Perry covered Della in a short beach robe and put one on himself as the rain outside also chilled the air inside the yacht.

"Well _I_ would say something like I, Della Street, take you, Perry Mason, for my husband. To love you forever in good times and bad, sickness and in good health, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live."

Perry pulled her close and kissed her softly. "Well said, Miss Street. It even sounded legal... And I, Perry Mason, take you, Della Street, for all of the reasons that you just mentioned. So by the powers vested in me, in the State of California and as Captain of this ship, I now pronounce us husband and wife."

They smiled and stared into each other's eyes for a long moment until Della broke the silence. "Did you forget something, Captain?"

"Are you wondering about the rings? Exchanging rings is _tradition_, not a _legality_."

"I see... So now we're back to legal, tossing romance aside. Did you forget something else, Captain?"

Perry responded with a quiet whisper in her ear. "I may kiss the bride..."

Still swaying in each other's arms, their lips met with soft kisses. After a few lingering kisses, Perry's lips moved beneath Della's ear and down her neck. His hands gently lowered her swimsuit straps and the beach robe off of her shoulders as he continued with his tender kisses on her soft shoulder. Della tilted her head back and moaned softly as Perry's fingers delicately began unzipping her swimsuit.

"Mrs. Mason, I think you need to get out of this wet swimsuit so you don't catch a cold..."

"I think you're right, Mr. Mason... After all, we _did_ just vow to take care of each other in sickness and in good health... I just have one question..."

Perry continued tenderly kissing her neck. "Another question?"

"Umm hmm... Now that you've kissed the bride and have almost completely undressed her, is this where we start the honeymoon?"

Perry lifted Della into his arms and started walking her towards the master bedroom. "We can't start the honeymoon until I've carried the bride over a threshold." Perry paused before he entered the bedroom. "You _do_ realize that our romantic marriage vows might not have really made this a _legal_ marriage?"

Della rested her head on his shoulder. "I'll take my chances on that. I know a good lawyer. I'll ask his advice about this - some day..."

**DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

The desk clerk at the Hotel Atwater in Avalon on Catalina Island got the attention of the hotel manager at the front desk at 11 o'clock Friday evening.

"Sir, the guests for the Presidential Suite have not checked in yet. It's a corporate reservation for 'Perry Mason Law Office'. Was there a cancellation that I'm not aware of?"

The manager walked behind the front desk and looked over the reservation card. "I don't know of any cancellation. It says here that it's already paid in full until check-out on Monday. We better just leave it alone. It might be reserved for one of their clients in some sort of legal matter."

"Very well, sir. We'll just leave it be."

**PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

At 8 o'clock Saturday morning Della woke up alone in the king-sized bed in the master bedroom of the yacht wondering where Perry was. She put on the skimpy beach robe and freshened up in the bathroom. Della then went looking for Perry, locating him in the kitchen.

Della walked up behind him as he was chopping vegetables on the kitchen counter. She brought her arms up around him from behind to tickle his chest beneath his beach robe. She rested her head against his back. "Good morning, Captain. First Mate reporting for duty."

Perry put the kitchen knife down and turned to take her in his arms to kiss her. "Umm. Minty fresh and my favorite fragrance. You taste so good... Even better than the tasty midnight snacks we shared at 2 o'clock this morning."

Della rested her head on his chest. "I missed you when I woke up just now. I just loved laying in your arms all night... Making love with you all night... What are you doing that's more important than waking up with your illegal bride?"

"I'm preparing the ingredients for our breakfast omelets. I need to feed my girl." Perry buried his face in her hair.

"Umm. I'm starving. I don't know how we missed dinner last night."

"I have a pretty good idea as to how we missed dinner last night." Perry began kissing her neck.

Della giggled. "Umm. That tickles! You're making me feel tingly all over... again!" She moved her arms to hug his neck. "We'll have to start thinking about lunch, too. What are we having for lunch?"

"I'll think of something. How hungry are you?"

"That depends on what you're planning for _after_ breakfast." Della stepped back out of his embrace and with a sultry look in her hazel eyes, she lowered the robe that was covering her bare shoulders.

Perry didn't hesitate to reach out for her and lift her up into his arms. "What do you mean _after_ breakfast? I think we might be having breakfast for lunch."

As he carried Della back to the bedroom nibbling at her neck, she giggled. "Umm. If we get through breakfast and lunch, I think dinner's going to be really good, too."

Perry and Della never set foot on Catalina Island at all that long weekend. While relaxing on the yacht, they had many decisions to ponder. Would Della ever decide to marry Perry? Would they ever write the perfect legal _and_ romantic vows to recite at their wedding? Should Perry keep the yacht as a bonus payment from Phyllis Monroe? But their most important discussion was deciding on when and where they were going to take their next long weekend away from the office to continue those discussions. No decisions were made that weekend. They were still working on coming up with a date that they could officially call their "anniversary date".

**The End**

Thank you for reading! I appreciate all of your reviews _and_ your encouragement to write these stories. I hope to have more Perry and Della adventures soon!


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